Fragments Of A Dream
by eyesthetic
Summary: Winnie Powers was known for many things. Her strange name, her sharp wit and probably the fact that she was best friends with The Marauders. Deciding that this year would be the best year of her life she embarks on a journey with her best friends where she discovers the true meaning of friendship, loyalty, hatred and of course love. Eventual Sirius/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! this is my first Marauders fanfic on this website. I hope you all like it and please do me a favor and review, comment, criticize and whatever other helpful thing you can do. Also, please note that I do not own anything to do with harry potter except my own OC Winnie. Also, I would just like to confirm that this story DOES indeed get better as you go along.**

Chapter 1

A wave of familiarity washed over me as I stepped onto the platform. There was something significantly special about getting on the train and going back to Hogwarts. Maybe it was the fact that I would be able to see my friends again but it might have to do with the fact that Hogwarts always felt like home and despite the fact that this year would be my sixth year, I always felt a rush of excitement surging through my veins when I made eye contact with the Hogwarts Express.

I scanned the platform but could see no sign of my friends. It was almost time to board the train and I suspected that they had all arrived early and I was probably the only one who had 'accidentally' slept in and arrived late. Not very surprising. But before I could continue my train of thought, my mother pulled me into a warm and bone-crushing hug.

"Oh, I'm going to miss you so much darling! Please be good and do take care of yourself, for once." I laughed and hugged her back.

I patted her back, comfortingly. "Alright mum, I promise to be good." I said as I escaped her hug.

She gave me a disbelieving look.

I threw my head back in laughter, "Okay, lets be more realistic here. I promise to try and be good." I said, a small smirk on my face.

My dad smiled at me and patted my shoulder, "Send us a letter here and there, won't you? I'd like to know my daughter is alive and well."

I laughed and replied, "Alright, alright. Now, don't worry about me. I'll be fine but I got to go, take care of yourselves! I love you both, bye!" I quickly gave both of them a kiss on the cheek and boarded the train. Once I got on, I gave them one last wave and then went to find my compartment.

I smiled as I saw people reuniting and hugging, it was actually quite nice to see- THUMP! In that exact moment a person decided to collide with my shoulder. The same shoulder I had accidentally hit earlier when I was rushing to the car.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" I exclaimed angrily to the person that bumped into my shoulder. "I'm fragile, you know!" I huffed in annoyance, but the person had already ran off.

Rolling my eyes, I swiftly grabbed my bag and ran my fingers up and down on my 'injured' shoulder as I walk towards my compartment, it had only been five minutes and I had already gotten hurt. Typical Winnie. I was so lost in thought that I almost walked passed my compartment, but when I heard the familiar, loud laughter of my friends through the glass door I stopped. I could recognise their voices anywhere.

A smile attached itself to my lips and I slid the compartment door open with ease.

I leaned against the door frame, "Hey, anyone see a bunch of animals around here? There was a dog, a mouse, a wolf and what was the last one? a moose?" I said, teasingly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Welcome to chapter 2! Before I start, I want you all to know that I don't own Harry Potter or anything to do with Harry Potter, all I own is Winnie Powers and thank you. Also, if you think I should make Winnie with one of the marauders, let me know because I'm still thinking about that.**

CHAPTER 2

They all turned their heads towards me at the same time. All at once they jumped up, greeting me while they were laughing. I shut the door and turned my head to lock gazes with a tall boy with dark knotted hair and a bright smile who was also known as James Potter. He jumped from his seat and enveloped me in his usual friendly, cordial hug.

He then flicked my forehead, "It's a stag not a moose and you know it Winifred Powers!" James Potter laughed.

"It's Winnie and you know it, James Potter." I said, lightly punching his shoulder.

My eyes met Remus's and we shared a smile as he warmly embraced me. As he let me go, a light bulb turned on in his head (or it seemed) and he asked:

"Oh, Winnie did you get the book I sent you? The muggle story you wanted about-"

I cut him off, " About the four girls? I sure did, Lupin. I really liked it especially the part when the girl decided to chop off her hair to save her family because they really needed the -"

They all groaned, making me roll my eyes.

"Save the school stuff for school, Winnie." Sirius said in a mocking tone.

I turned my head to face Sirius and playfully rolled my eyes as Sirius approaches me; he shot me a grin and said in a loud voice:

"Winnie! Good to see you mate."

He then proceeded to hug me before pausing and looking at me with curiosity; I furrowed my brows at him. Silently asking him 'what's wrong?' He then put his hand on the top of my head and measured.

"Hey, guys did Winnie get taller?" Sirius said jokingly.

I batted his hand away and crossed my arms, quickly scanning my brain for a witty retort.

"Excuse me Black? I am and always have been tall, it's just that you're all six foot a million so I'm sure you can hardly tell."

"Six foot a million." James repeated, throwing his head back and laughing his loud laugh.

"Oh, shut it Potter." I mumbled as I sat down next to Remus.

My eyes then focused on Peter Pettigrew who was sitting opposite me. He wasn't a particularly smart or handsome fellow. Peter with his protruding chubby cheeks, matted blonde hair and shifty eyes. He didn't really do or say much; he was just there all the time. It kind of bothered me that he didn't say hello or acknowledge me in any way but I assumed it was because I was a female and probably the only female he ever interacted with.

Our eyes locked for a moment before he shifted his eyes to Remus who was sitting besides me. For some reason, the fact that I intimidated him - or anyone actually greatly boosted my ego.

I turned my attention on to Remus who was deeply engrossed in a book, that's when I noticed the look of exhaustion on his face. His eyes were bloodshot red and he had obvious bags under his eyes that were paired with a couple of scars across his face and a one large one leading all the way down to his neck. I felt a pang in my heart as I took in his state.

James didn't allow my train of thought to continue because he looked at me and said:

"Winnie, why didn't you tell me your brother came to visit! I had to hear it from mum. I could've learned some valuable quidditch moves!" he whined.

My brother Greg was a part of the Chudley Cannons. A team that wasn't very good nor was it very bad. Their motto was But was quite popular with Gryffindors due to the fact that their unifrom colors were the exact same colors of the Gryffindor house.

"I didn't know until he arrived! besides, I hardly think my brother will share his top secret quidditch moves with you. Speaking of your mum how is she anyway?" I say, laughing.

"She's fine, she's been asking about you a lot! Where's Winnie? How is Winnie? Winnie this, Winnie that. I won't be surprised if she adopts you." James says, running a hand through his messy hair. A habit he did which not only made his hair more knotted but also made the girls fawn over him for some bizzare reason.

"That's great news just send the adoption papers right over!" I said, laughing. "Actually, you know what she might actually do that. Never mind."

"I was just going to say that. You don't know mum." He said, scratching the back of his neck.

I smiled cheekily and turn my attention to the window, it was getting dark now and I could faintly see Hogwarts from afar. It was brightly lit, almost making it seem like it was glowing from within. I caught my reflection in the window. With my dark and defined curly hair, tanned skin and my permanently bored face. I always seemed to stick out like a sore thumb.

"Winnie?" Remus's voice said, making me glance up. I then realised that we had indeed arrived.

* * *

"Then – then she says, you know what she says? Leave before I turn you into a banshee, you poor excuse for a human being!" James said loudly, shaking his hands to illustrate his point.

"Mhm," I say, completely ignoring him and focusing solely on the chess game that was happening between Sirius and I. "Knight to E5?" I mumble uncertainly.

Sirius clucked his tongue, "A poorly executed move resulting in the death of your knight, Winnie." Sirius said arrogantly as we both watched my knight being smashed violently. I cringe, whispering a apology to the now crushed knight.

James looks at us and runs a hand through his hair, angrily. "Are you two even listening?!"

We both mumble incoherent yes's as we both try to figure out how to win the game. James looks between us and takes the chess game and throws it like a Frisbee – right at the Gryffindor beater who surprisingly ends up catching it.

"Hey! We were playing that!" I say in an annoyed tone.

"I am opening my heart to you to and what do I get in return? Absolutely nothing! Thank you for nothing, you awful human beings." James says dramatically and drops himself on the couch. I sigh and turn my body to face James who was staring at the ceiling. A look of sadness and confusion evident on his face, I didn't understand why he liked Lily so much. There were plenty of girls who constantly tried to get his attention but he always went after for the one who didn't seem to care for him at all.

I looked across the common room where Lily sat with her friends, she was the kind of good girl who always did her work on time, who never partied, who probably never drank or did anything crazy. She was the teachers pet and one of the most respected girls in our school, she was the perfect role model for the younger students. Lily Evans was literally the opposite of James Potter. James Potter was loud, misbehaved and funny. But despite his behavior, he was an incredible student who possessed good looks, charms and the strange ability to always get out of trouble.

I pulled myself out of my thoughts and focused on the conversation Sirius, Remus and James were having (quite loudly) on Lily.

"I'm just saying maybe you should give up on her, mate. There are plenty of fish in the sea." Sirius said to James.

James rolled his eyes, "Yeah, well it's a good thing I'm allergic to fish."

Remus laughed, "That doesn't even make sense."

"Maybe you should leave her alone." Peter squeaked, making us all turn to him and making him turn a bright shade of pink.

"What? Leave her alone? Then how would she go out with me, come on Wormtail!" He said frustratedly as he clutched a pillow to his face.

"You know, James. I think he has a good point." I spoke up.

James lowered the pillow and looked at me as if I had just spoken in parseltongue, "Are you joking?" he said in a bemused voice.

"No, listen. I'm a girl." I paused. "Well, I'm a girl-ish. So, lets put it in my perspective, shall we? Okay, if there's a guy who constantly bothers me and talks to me, I'd get annoyed by him. But, if he suddenly leaves me alone and starts to act like a normal human being, I'll think 'maybe he's changed' then I might give this guy a second chance! If you do this, you might actually get a shot with Lily!" I say, slightly excited.

James eyed me curiously and then said in a low voice, "D'you reckon it'll work?"

I shrugged, "No, but you've got nothing to lose so why not!"

James groaned and covered his head with the pillow once more. "Thanks!" he mumbled.

Sirius threw his head back and laughed, hitting me on the shoulder, "Aren't you just full of optimism!" he said sarcastically.

I clutched my shoulder and slightly winced, "Yeah, that's me. Winnie the Optimist."

The conversation then drifted from Lily to summer and what they had all been doing, Remus informed all of us that he had gone to Germany and showed us pictures. James spoke proudly about how he had been training all summer to become the captain of the quidditch team. Peter talked about how he had a 'amazing' time with his family. I noticed how quiet Sirius was being. He was usually the loud and outgoing one, but when the conversation drifted upon the subject of family or summer, Sirius would become practically silent.

Sirius Black. He was the odd one out of his family, or so I've noticed. He had dark, shaggy hair which made me think of his animagus and 'hypnotizing' grey eyes (or so I've been told by his many admirers) He was also quite tall and well-built from quidditch. He always seemed to have a smile on his face and could easily put a smile on another person's face. Sirius was charming, flirtatious and a bit manipulative. He knew exactly what to say to get what he wanted from anybody. I wouldn't deny the fact that he was good looking, but to me he had more of a tortured soul kind of aura around him. I had an inkling it had to do with his family, but he never spoke much of them..not to me, anyways.

Speak of the devil, Sirius Black looked up and looked right at me, "Why'd you always do that?" he whispered.

I gave him a bemused look, "Do what?"

He scratched his head, "I don't know, you just always have this on your face. It feels like you're peering into my soul.

I laughed, "I'm not peering into anyone's soul..I'm just- I don't know observing, I guess?"

He smirked, "Oh, you're observing me. So..like what you see?"

I hit him with a pillow, "No! This is why I don't talk to you that much." I said, annoyed.

He slipped his arm across my shoulders, "It's alright darling, if you want to confess your undying love for me you can. I've had about three today."

I rolled my eyes, shrugging his hand off my shoulders. "No way. Three confessions? It's our first day." I said, not believing him.

He shrugged, "It's true, I promise. But what can I do? There is no time frame for love. Well, more like one-sided love anyway. It's flattering yes but oh, is it awkward,"

I shook my head and put a hand on my heart, "You poor soul, having people confess their love to you must be so tiring. How ever do you do it?" I said sarcasm rolling off my tongue easily.

He laughed his annoyingly-loud laugh as usual, "I missed you a lot, Dot."

I scrunched my nose up in annoyance, he was using my marauders/animagus nickname. Dot, it was so plain and boring. While they got cool names like Padfoot, Moony, Prongs and Wormtail, all I got was the stupid name Dot due to my cheetah animagus. I clearly instructed them to never call me that and to call me Winnie instead but who can stop the marauders?

"Oi, what are you two chatting about?" James said, pushing his glasses up to the bridge of his nose.

I stood up and cleared my throat, "Gentleman, I have an announcement to - eh, announce."

Remus laughed, "Go on then."

"How about we make this year- sixth year - the best year ever!"

Sirius furrowed his brows, "But what about next year?"

"We won't have time for fun because we'll be too busy deciding what we want to do for the rest of our lives! So, I propose that this year will be the greatest, most unforgettable year! what do you say?" I grinned brightly.

I was surprised when the whole common room exploded into cheers and claps, obviously liking the idea of a fun and memorable year. Seeing everyone's excitement made me feel a twinge of happiness and I made an invisible promise to myself to have the best year I could possibly have.

"I think that response was pretty clear." Remus said, in a amiable tone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone! I just wanted to let you guys know that I don't own Harry Potter, only Winnie.**

Chapter 3

I sat down at my usual place in the Great Hall, next to Sirius who was looking at the time table, an expression of pain on his face. I rolled my eyes at his exaggeration and grabbed a slice of toast and some jam. I peered over his shoulder to see why he looked like he was going to smash his head onto the wall but he didn't let me see the timetable.

"Let me see, you big baby." I said as I tried to grab it from him, after minutes of physically hitting him repeatedly on the shoulder he let go and I finally saw why he was in pain.

My eyes widened. "Godric's left eye, do they want to kill us?" I say loudly. "Ancient runes, arithmancy, herbology and then potions!"

Sirius poked his food with his fork, "I'm seriously contemplating stabbing myself in the eye with this fork." he grumbled.

I took a bite of my toast and decided on replying in a Sirius-like fashion, "Oh, no. That'd be a shame since the only pretty thing about you is your eyes." I said fluttering my eyelashes at him.

He looked up from his food and poorly stifled a laugh, "Was that a flirtation?"

I laughed, "No, I was trying to act like you."

He scoffed, "I don't flirt like that."

I raised my eyebrows at him, leaning my chin on my hand. "Oh, do you have any flirting tips you'd like to share with me oh great and mighty one?"

He gave me a arrogant smile as if he was waiting all his life to tell someone this, "Of course, I do! First of all, you shouldn't include a insult in the middle of your sentence. Secondly-"

I cut him off and laughed "Sirius, I was kidding Idon't actually care."

He scowled, "That was incredibly rude."

I nudged him slightly hoping he knew that I was kidding and turned to face the door when I saw a flash of fiery red hair enter The Great Hall. I grinned and kicked James's leg from under the table.

He winced and shot me a glare. "Ow! what was that for?!"

I cringed slightly, "Sorry, but remember what I told you yesterday? about Lily?"

"The part where I should leave her alone." He said miserably.

I nodded excitedly, "Exactly! She's going to be sitting down any minute now and you have to ignore her." I said wisely.

His eyebrows shot up, "What? you said I should leave her alone not ignore her." He looked like he was about to cry.

I leaned forward and whispered, "Yeah, change of plan. Leave her alone and ignore her."

"Why would I do that?"

"Trust me, it'll work."

"I don't trust you that much Winnie,"

I stood up and grabbed my bag, "Well, you better learn to. See ya James." I said with a wink.

I decided that I wouldn't be going to Ancient Runes today because I didn't really have any interest in Ancient runes and for some reason I felt the need to take a break and just get away from it all, it wasn't because I didn't like my friends or anything - I did. A lot but I just felt like I needed some time to do nothing and just think.

I went up the stairs and slowly slipped into the corridors that reached me to The Clock Tower, as usual it was abandoned. This was my favorite spot because you could see everyone, but since nobody would ever look up - no one would see you. My eyes glazed over the students who were outside, there I spotted the ghost of Helena Ravenclaw who was currently being tormented by Slytherins.

My eyes narrowed at them and I took out my wand and muttered," Tarantellagra." The dancing feet spell.

The Slytherins who just so happened to be Mulciber and Avery suddenly started to dance uncontrollably, they looked at each other yelling at each other to make it stop. The students around them began to notice their odd actions and started to laugh and whistle, some even calling their friends to come watch Mulciber and Avery make a fool of themselves.

I stifled a laugh as I watched their legs moving at erratic speeds. "Serves them right." I said, proudly.

Then I saw the marauders arrive with confused looks on their faces, suddenly when James and Sirius see Mulciber and Avery dancing uncontrollably they begin to laugh loudly, Remus and Peter were there too however they were trying to keep their laughter to themselves. Remus suddenly looks around the open field, then pauses and looks up and somehow manages to lock gazes with me. He shoots me a questionable look and then looks at Mulciber and Avery and raises his brow, silently asking if I did this.

I grin while nodding 'yes' and he looks away with an impressed smile on his face as if he were saying 'good job'. I smiled and then proceeded to turn around and looking for a comfortable spot to read.

...

"Today class we will be learning about the Venomous Tentacula! A very poisonous and fatal plant with deadly spikes! I know you're all excited to start but don't forget to write the heading and the date please!" Professor Sprout said, a young and short woman who always seemed to be excited when teaching.

I eyed the strange looking plant, with its giant eye-less head and sharp looking spikes. Professor Sprout said it was permitted to swear loudly if it happened to attack or strangle us.

"Look at that, they expect us to go near that thing?" James whispered incredulously.

"Anything is possible at Hogwarts." I whispered back.

"Be careful students because some of these plants can even shoot spikey spore-like balls into your mouths, if that happens or attempts to happen use the spell Difindo, now get to work."

A hufflepuff boy in front of us raised his hand and shyly asked, "Can we work in pairs?"

Professor Sprout got an excited look on her face, "Yes! that's a great idea young man- ten points to hufflepuff!"

I turned to James, "Look's like we're partners, partner."

He started writing down things on his parchment, "Do you want to be my partner for life?" he says in a monotonous voice.

"Was that a marriage proposal?" I said faux flirtatious tone.

"Sure, if I don't marry Evans I'll marry you instead." He said jokingly.

I raised my eyebrows, pretending to look insulted. "Piss off, I'm not anyones second choice. I'm either number one or nothing."

"Come on, you don't wanna be my backup plan?"

I laughed, "Your backup plan? Aren't you organized."

"Of course I am, I need one because if things don't work out with Lily and I, I'll at least still have you in my life." He said and looked up from his work.

I rolled my eyes, "We don't have to be romantically involved so I'll be in your life. I'll always be in your life- you're my best friend." I said without much thought, my eyes widened when I realized I had confessed to him that he was my best friend. Which was downright embarrasing.

He sat upright and turned his body to me while slightly leaning on his arm, "Is that right?" He said and smiled proudly, probably because I had never admitted the fact that he was my best friend. Even though I was sure he knew.

I slumped my shoulders and tried to hide behind my hair; a little embarrassed of my confession and turned my body towards Professor Sprout who was explaining the uses of Venomous Tentacula leaf.

"Shut it, Potter." I said quietly.

"I didn't say anything," James said smirking, he then paused as if he were trying to remember something. "Oh Winnie I forgot to tell you! Lily was acting really weird today."

Weird and Lily? That word did not match the redhead who was usually calm, composed and mature..except when she was around James, obviously.

"What'd you mean?" I asked dumbfounded.

"Well, you know how you told me to ignore her right, so I did and it was like she was interested in me! Can you believe it? She kept looking at me every minute or so, she even asked Sirius if I was feeling okay."

I laughed not believing the situation, "When did all this happen?"

"During Ancient Runes, it's the first time I actually enjoyed that lesson. You weren't there though, where'd you go?" He did the infamous puppy-dog eyes, it was the face he did when he wanted to gain something, luckily I knew how to resist it.

I dismissed his questioning with a wave of my hand, "Don't worry about me, what else happened?"

He seemed like he wanted to question me more about where I'd disappeared off to, but thankfully he didn't. James then began to ramble about Lily again and I took the time to really take in his features. His annoying dark, messy hair, his protruding cheekbones and his infamous hazel eyes that were hidden by his round glasses. The hazel eyes that made all the girls crush on him. I also noticed that he had a new scar near his right eyebrow, probably from quidditch.

"Hey are you listening?!" James said in an annoyed tone as he pushed his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose.

"Yes, you said something about Lily."

He ran a hand through his hair, "No you muppet, I was asking you if you were going to re-join quidditch this year."

I pondered over it for a minute, "I don't know, I mean last year was great and everything but I just don't feel like it anymore."

"Oh," he said solemnly, "Okay, try-outs are next week on Wednesday if you want to come- you don't have to but if you do end up changing your mind."

What I loved about James Potter was that if I was sad or angry or annoyed he would know when to back off. He didn't pester me about it or stick his nose in my business, he knew when to lay off and he knew that eventually if it was a big deal that I would come to him. We were silent for a moment. But it wasn't an awkward silence, it was more of a comfortable silence. Where you didn't really have to say anything if you didn't want to but at the same time you could.

I turned to him and with a smile I said, "I hope you know that regardless of the fact that I probably won't be joining quidditch this year I still intend on making this year the best year ever."

He returned the smile with ease, "You keep saying that but how are you going to actually have the best year ever?"

I shrugged, "I guess we'll find out."

...

"Winifred?" A gentle voice said, I groaned at the mention of my horrid name but lowered the book I was reading and sat up from the couch. I was surprised when I saw Lily Evans in front of my face.

"Winnie, please." I said with a smile. "What's up?"

Lily shifted her weight from one foot to another and shot me a curious look, "Alright Winnie..Did you do or say something to Potter?" she said after a moment of hesitation.

My eyebrows shot up, "That's a strange question to ask. Why would _you_ out of all people be asking that?"

"It's just.." She tucked a red strand of hair behind her ear and cleared her throat, as if ready to present a speech. "He's been acting funny all day and I'd like to know what's going on with him!"

An amused smile feasted upon my lips. "Well if you must know, I asked him to stop bothering you..I mean, you want that don't you? A permanent break from James Potter."

"Um, yes. I suppose I do," She replied unsurely. "Well, thanks Winnie. I'll see you later."

I watched Lily walk out of the common room with a smile growing on my face. I jumped up and mumbled a spell that allowed me to go to the boy's dormitories and ran up the boys staircase which led to the sixth year dormitories. I knocked on the door rapidly, jumping up and down in excitement. I wasn't usually a giddy person but sometimes you just had to be.

"Who is it?" Peter said from behind the door.

"It's me, open up!" I said excitedly.

There was shuffling at the door before he finally unlocked it and opened it, I pushed the door open and scanned the room for James Potter eventually I found him playing exploding snap with Remus and Sirius. I ran to them excitedly, my curly hair flying around from the speed I was running at.

"James, you'll never believe it - I don't believe it! Merlin's hat, I can't believe that actually happened!" I said very quickly.

They all looked at each other with puzzled faces.

"Come again?" Remus asked.

I took a breathe and turned to James and said, "Lily was asking me about you. You!" I punched his shoulder at the you.

He looked like he had just invented a spell that would grant his every wish because his face was in permanent shock and happiness, "Are you being serious?" he said in the most delighted voice I had ever heard.

"No, I'm being Winnie." I said sarcastically.

I felt a pillow collide with the back of my head.

"Stop trying to be me, darling." Sirius said, clearly amused.

"I can't believe- what did she say! tell me everything and don't miss a single detail." James said, overjoyed.

I laughed and told him word for word about the conversation that happened between Lily and I, I explained to him that she was unsure of the fact that she didn't want him around. Which obviously meant that if he kept this up and showed her how different he could be, then there might be a chance that he could actually end up with her. He was smiling so much you would've thought that his face was stuck that way.

James threw himself onto his bed, "This is probably the best day of my life."

Remus looked at him, "You said the same thing when you won that quidditch game, last year. Remember?"

James sat up and leaned on the bed with his arm, "You're right Moony, this is the best day of my life- so far."

He then turned to me and shot me a grin. "Thank you for existing, you provide me with happiness."

I laughed and pretended to tip my non-existent hat, "It's what I do, Prongs. It's what I do."

Sirius turned to me and said, "So now what? we know that Lily is interested- which is good of course, but what do we do now?"

I sat down on his bed and faced all the marauders, "Now, gentleman. We plan."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"What lies before me is one of the most powerful potions to ever exist," Slughorn said, eyeing us all. "Does anyone know what this potion is?" He pointed at a pot.

A couple of students raised their hands, I took this as a chance to lay my head on the desk and perhaps fall into a short slumber.

"Ms. Powers! perhaps you know what it is!" Slughorn's voice said, forcing me to awake.

Kill me now.

Next to me, Remus was laughing at my defeat, I took this as the perfect opportunity to elbow him in the stomach. Groaning internally, I got up and approached Slughorn where three different sized pots sat. I peered at the one he was pointing at and took a whiff what I got in return assured me that it was Amortentia.

I looked at Slughron, "It's Amortentia, a potion that causes infatuation or obsession. Apparently, it smells differently to each person depending on what they are attracted to. To me it smells like vanilla, fresh sheets and petrichor. But to someone else it could very well be the smell of charcoal or..decomposition." I said with a sardonic smile.

Slughorn coughed and shot me a forced smile, "Thank you Ms. Powers, take a seat." he then took a pregnant pause. "Yes, it is Amortentia. A very powerful and very dangerous love potion, although it has the word love in it it doesn't create actual love- only obsession and temporary infatuation. Now, turn your books to page thirty two."

"Sir, are we going to be brewing it?" May Brekle asked rather excitedly.

Slughorn shook his head, chuckling, "Oh no, I don't know what will happen if I allowed that. We'll be making the draught of the living dead! Hurry now, page thirty-two."

"Oh," May said as she lowered her hand, a sad look on her face.

I looked at the instructions for The Draught Of The Living Death. Wormwood..powdered root of asphodel...sloth brain..I could already tell that this wasn't going to be an easy potion to make.

"Petrichor attracts you? Really?" Remus said out of the blue, causing me to jump a little in my seat.

"Why do you just randomly talk out of the blue! also, there is nothing wrong with petrichor. It's calming." I say as we both walk up to the supplies cabinet and grab the ingredients we need.

"Sorry but how is the smell of earth after rain supposed to smell attractive?" He asked in an incredulous tone.

As we got back to the table and I lowered the supplies on the table, I turned to him and said. "Okay, then Mr. I'm So Great why don't you go and see what you're attracted to. Go on."

"Alright then," He said as he approached the potion. Luckily for him Slughorn was busy attending to a student, not that he would get in trouble of course - for some reason Slughorn liked him. A lot. Probably because he actually did his work on time.

I put the wormwood inside the potion and the powdered root of asphodel when Remus came back, looking a bit dazed. I cocked a eyebrow and gave him a stare that asked 'what's wrong?'.

He shrugged, "It smelt weird. Like..cinammon, burning wood and old books."

"That sounds kind of cool, actually." I smiled.

He looked at the pot and mumbled, "You're doing it wrong- you added too much wormwood. Hand me the sloth brain." I scrunched up my nose and complied, watching him fix the potion that I thought had gone right.

"It's feels kind of familiar doesn't it? Like you know where it's from but you just can't place it." I said, watching him.

"Yeah," He looked up. "that's exactly it."

I grabbed the sopophorous beans and attempted to cut it just like it said in the book but after several attempts and watching it fly across the room, I angrily stabbed the bean causing it's juice to come out. I looked up and saw that everyone was cutting it - everyone except Severus Snape who was crushing it and extracting the juice with ease. I decided to trust Snape's potion skill and put it in the potion, I watched as the potion turn a lilac color and then clear. MY eyes widened and I gently hit Remus's arm.

"Moony, I think I did it." I said grinning.

He peered inside the pot and was impressed to find that I had actually succeeded at making the potion. He then called Professor Slughorn who looked in my pot and announced to everyone that I was the second person to finish it, after Severus of course. Despite that I was still overjoyed.

Remus smiled, "Good job Winnie."

I felt my insides fill up with pride.

A few hours later we were all in the common room, laughing and messing about.

"Try outs went amazingly, yesterday. I think we found a new seeker, someone to replace Adrian. His name is Michael Dirk. He's a bit strange but plays brilliantly." James said happily

"Never heard of him." Sirius replied.

"'Course you haven't." I replied, rolling my eyes.

He sat up and glared at me. "What's that supposed to mean?"

I shrugged cooly, "You don't tend to notice other people,"

He clenched his jaw, "That's not true." he looked at Remus "Remus, tell her that's not true!"

Remus laughed, "Don't get me into this."

Sirius looked at Peter for help, "Pete?"

Peter looked at him and uncertainly said, "He's not _that_ bad at noticing other people."

Sirius huffed and stood up, "I do notice other people! Look there's Lily, Mary and Marvis " he said and pointed at Lily and Marlene , which obviously gained their attention.

"You mean Marlene?" Remus said, stifling his laughter.

"Right, Marlene." He said sheepishly, taking a seat.

I sat up and waved at them, "Hi Marlene, Mary and Lily!" Marlene and Lily looked at each other and hesitantly waved back, Mary however shot me a small and bemused smile. I always liked her.

"Did Lily just smile at me?" James said awestruck.

I rolled my eyes, "No, you moose she smiled at _me_."

"Stag. Not a moose, a stag!" James said irritated.

My gaze led back to Marlene McKinnon. The pretty blonde with baby-blue eyes and sharp features, she was relatively nice with a hilarious sense of humor and easygoing personality. She was also quite smart scoring the second highest in charms after Lily. For some reason, she gave me the same vibe I got from Sirius. The same 'I don't care about anything' facade which usually hid insecurity or problems. She also seemed to be the female equivalent of Sirius, she too was popular and well liked and she also had many people wanting her. Just like Sirius.

Wait..was I playing matchmaker?

I kind of like it.

I poked Sirius's arm, "Hey Sirius, what do you think of Marlene?"

He batted my hand away and focused intently on the game of exploding snap he was playing with Peter. I came to the conclusion that the only way to get him to listen to me was by making him win the stupid game.

"The one's on the far left." I whispered to him, he nodded discretely.

Sirius tapped the cards with his wand and Peter's card exploded, meaning that Sirius had won.

"YES!" He said and jumped, sticking his fist in the air.

I rolled my eyes but smiled nonetheless, "Now will you listen?" I pleaded.

He sat back down and turned his body to me, giving me his full attention. He cocked his brow as if to say 'what?' I sat indian style on the couch and repeated, "What do you think of Marlene?"

He furrowed his brow and looked at her, "I don't know? she's cute I suppose. I've only spoken to her a number of times - what does this have to do with anything?" he said loudly.

I shushed him and hit his arm, "Quiet! I just think you guys would be cute together, she's exactly like you!"

He laughed loudly, "Darling, I can get a date whenever I want. I don't need you to play matchmaker."

"No but look!" I said and forced his face to turn in her direction. Marlene was currently laughing with Lily about something while doing their homework.

"Are you looking?" I asked.

He removed my hands from his face, "Yes, I'm looking. She's nice, I guess. But I'm not the dating kind of guy - you can leave that to Remus and Peter. I like to be free, love."

I scoffed, "Free? what better way to be free than with a person who shares the same interests with you! You can have double the fun." I said raising my hand to emphasize my point.

"Oi, matchmaker. What about me and Lily!" James said, amused.

"Ladies, please! One client at a time! Do I look like I have time to set you both up with lovers while simultaneously trying to have my own love life and actually pass this year? Give me time. I need to plan."

"I don't want a 'lover' as you call it, I'm enjoying the freedom of being a single man." Sirius said, leaning back on the couch and kicking his legs up onto the table.

"So far." I said quietly.

"What was that, Winnie?" Sirius said and then shoved me playfully.

"I said I'm in love with you."

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

I decided to get up from my spot and head over to Marlene, Mary and Lily. They shot me bemused, uneasy smiles but smiles nonetheless.

"Hi! also, before you ask - James did not send me here to spy on you I got bored of their..boringness." I said brightly.

Naturally Marlene was the first one to speak, since she was the most outspoken, "Oh well, the more the merrier! What have you been up to Winnie?"

I shrugged, "Nothing really, just plotting everyone's death. Would you prefer to be killed by cyanide or tortured to death?" I beamed.

She pretended to think it over, tapping her chin. "Hmm, I'll go for the cyanide. I'd prefer my death to be fast and painless."

We all laughed.

"So, Marlene what do you think of Sirius Black?"


	5. Chapter 5

Sadly, I still don't own Harry Potter only my OC Winnie Powers.

Chapter 3

Marlene burst into loud laughter and gave me the biggest grin I had ever seen, "Winnie, are you seriously trying to get me to go out with Sirius Black? I appreciate the effort but I'm perfectly content being single, I'm actually enjoying it. A lot."

I sighed, of course she would react this way. She was reacting the exact same way Sirius reacted. Which is why they were perfect for each other! Why is it that you could see a person was so perfect for another person but those two people could not see it! Ugh, stupid Sirius and Marlene and their similarities in behavior.

"You alright there Winnie?" Mary's said in a concerned tone.

I turned to her and nodded, "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"You look like you're actually plotting someone's murder." Lily said, laughing.

"I very well could be, you don't know what goes on in this brain of mine," I said with a wink.

They all laughed and for some reason, I felt like I belonged. Despite the fact that I wasn't close to them, I felt a warm tingly sensation travel around my body. Maybe it was the fact that I was hanging out with a group girls for once in my life or maybe because it was the fact that they were some of the only girls who didn't hate me because I was friends with the marauders.

"You know, you should hang out with us more. I'm sure constantly hanging out with the boys can get a bit dull." Marlene said with a smile.

I laughed, "It can feel a bit male-dominated sometimes so I just might take you up on that offer, Marlene."

Mary tucked a strand of her short hair, "Winnie, I hope you don't take this the wrong way or anything but how come you don't seem to hang out with the other girls as much?'

I didn't really know how to answer that question because since I had started my friendship with James, Remus, Sirius and Peter girls became envious of me and my friendship with the boys. They assumed because I was a girl that I wanted to date them and that meant the chances of them dating one the marauders were slim to none. Even though I tried to explain to them that the relationship between the marauders and I was strictly friendship - few listened. Of course not all girls were like that - but the ones who wanted Sirius, James and Remus to notice them (Peter was too shy to be noticed by the girls) would stop at nothing to make sure that I knew that they didn't like me. At all.

I shook my head, "Oh no it's fine honestly. Well I think there are a number of reasons for that, one is probably due to the envy which I don't think I have to explain and because I guess, I got used to the boys and I like being around them so I guess I don't really feel the need to I mean we've been friends for years - they're practically my family." I smiled warmly.

Mary frowned and said, "Those girls are such a pain in the neck!"

I snicker, "You're telling me."

Lily shot me a sympathetic smile, "If they bother you again - you should talk to McGonagall about it. Or you know what just send them to me, I'll show them!"

"Oh yeah, Lily's like a rabid dog. Just one touch and you're scarred for life." Marlene said sarcastically. Everyone knew that Lily was as frightening as a fluffy rabbit. Except when she was around James of course.

Lily rolled her eyes and shoved her playfully, "I can be scary when I want to you know, just look at the first years! they're scared of me."

I snorted and replied "They're scared of everyone, Lily. Face it, you're about as frightening as a fluffy pink rabbit."

"But a very _cute_ fluffy pink rabbit." Mary said giggling.

Lily looked like she was about to say something but her eyes landed on the clock and she jumped up and out of her seat, a horrific look on her face. She looked like she was watching a dementor suck someone's soul.

"You alright, Lily?" Marlene asked, worried.

"I completely forgot that there's a prefect meeting in fifteen minutes!" She then turned to Remus who was sitting near the fireplace. "Remus, are you coming? We have a prefect's meeting."

He nodded, "Right, I almost forgot about that." He said standing up.

I waved goodbye as I watched Lily and Remus leave the common room. Oh, the sad life of a prefect.

"She has to go to a prefect meeting fifteen minutes early?" I asked a bit skeptical.

Marlene laughed, "No, she just likes to be early to everything; so do the other prefects. It's kind of strange now that I think about it.."

Mary laughed, "Ever heard of the saying 'early bird gets the worm'? I'm pretty sure that's Lily's life motto. Bless her."

I looked at Mary MacDonald, studying her face. She was one of the smallest girls in our grade, which made her an easy target for bullies. With her shoulder length brown hair, big brown eyes and baby face. She was a very friendly and kind-hearted girl, yet also very quiet. Mary's life turned upside down last year when one of the teachers caught Mulciber physically assaulting Mary, apparently she was so scared that she froze on the spot and couldn't move at all. If it wasn't for Lily and Marlene who took her under their wing, I was almost certain that she would never return to Hogwarts again.

Marlene looked between the both of us, "Next week is the first Hogsmeade trip! who's going?"

Mary shrugged, "I don't know- should I go?"

"You know, next week the boys and I are going- you guys should tag along." I said coolly.

Mary's eyes widened and she turned a faint shade of pink ,"N-no it's fine."

Marlene's reaction was the exact opposite, "That's a great idea, Winnie! We could go to the three broomsticks, I'd also love to stop by Honeydukes, I've been craving chocolate for days!" she grinned.

Mary turned her big eyes towards Marlene, "B-but-"

"Oh come on, Mary. It'll be fun, I promise. You have nothing to worry about and besides you'll have us with you." I said, putting a comforting hand on her arm.

She paused for a moment and looked down, "Alright. But you have to promise not to leave me alone. Promise!" She said, fear in her eyes.

Marlene rolled her eyes playfully, "Okay, I promise."

I shrugged, "Don't worry about it."

Marlene laughed at me, "You know who you remind me off? The marauders combined. It's like if they all had one baby, it'd be you."

I scoffed, "Are you joking? They can barely look after themselves, if they had a baby it'd be dead already."

We all laughed.

* * *

I walked towards the black lake, where the marauders where sitting under a unusually large tree.

James saw me and nodded, "Winnie, you alright?"

I smiled as I sat next to them, indian style. "I'm great, Prongs. Oh, yeah I actually have something to tell you guys you know how we're going to Hogsmeade next week? Guess who's coming along with us! Lily!" I said happily, "and marlene and mary.." I muttered the last part.

"Lily's coming?!" James said, with a huge smile.

"What was that last part, Dot?" Sirius said, furrowing his brows.

"Nothing.." I smiled awkwardly.

Remus shoved me lightly and said, "Spit it out, Winnie."

"Um, Marlene and Mary are coming along too?" I said, scratching the back of my neck.

Sirius narrowed his eyes, "You better not be trying to set us up, Winnie or I swear on Godric's beard that I'll-"

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, yeah you'll hex me into a million years. I got it."

Sirius looked taken-aback, "How did you know I was going to say that? When did I become so predictable?"

"You've always been predictable," Remus said, laughing.

Sirius groaned and tugged on his hair, "I've become boring! dull! predictable! foreseeable! Everything I've never wanted to be!"

I laughed, "You still have great hair, though."

He unconsciously ran his fingers through his hair, "Never mind my amazing hair! I've turned into - I've turned into you!" He said, directing the last part to Remus.

"Yeah the werewolf is the boring one here," James said sarcastically.

"So you guys what do you say? Can they tag along?" I asked, giving them my sweetest smile. I crossed my fingers behind my back, just for luck.

"Hey, I said yes from the start!" James scowled.

"Yeah, but you're not the drama queen here are you?" I said, rolling my eyes.

Sirius sighed and gave in, "Fine. But if you're expecting anything to happen between me and Marvis-"

"Marlene." Remus cut in.

"Right, if you're expecting anything to happen between me and _Marlene_ then forget it, alright?"

I gave him the two finger salute, "Yes sir!"

"I don't know why it's so hard to remember Marlene, she's quite unforgettable." Remus said, as he picked up his book.

My eyes widened and I turned to look at him. Could it be?! Did Remus like Marlene? Maybe Marlene should be with Remus, I mean they didn't have much in common but she could certainly make Remus happy. Marlene and Sirius were a better match in my opinion but maybe they wouldn't like dating someone who was so..like them, I suppose.

"Remus, do you like her?" I said, ecstatic.

His eyes widened and I watched his face turn red, "No! No, I don't. I really don't! I just meant that she was unforgettable because everyone knows she's famous for her bat-bogey hex. I do _not_ like her."

I laughed loudly and slapped him on the shoulder, making him wince. "Of course not, Moony! Love comes gradually."

He groaned, "Please don't meddle in my personal affairs."

I sighed, "Fine. Maybe I'll find another match for you - someone more Remus-like."

Remus ignored me and turned his head to look at the lake, I watched as a thousand emotions crossed his face at once. I stared at his face, was he acting so weird? He then grabbed his school bag and got up, before turning around and angrily looking at me.

"Winifred just stop. You don't-" He let out a frustrated huff "Even if I wanted a girlfriend you know I can't! I can barely keep a friend! I can't get close to anyone in fear of knowing that they could find out what I actually am. I'm a monster! Do you know how hard it is? Watching everyone be happy and knowing I can't ever have that!"

I was taken aback. All I was trying to do was to make him happy and he ends up yelling at my face? I wasn't just hurt, I was surprised as hell! He was the one who was supposed to be calm and composed all the time. I was the temperamental one, not him.

I wet my lips and clenched my jaw, trying to control my temper. "Remus-"

He balled his fists and then erupted like a volcano: "No! just stop! Instead of being such an immature child why don't you do something useful for once in your life?!" His words cut like a sharp knife.

"Guys.." Peter said, fear evident in his voice.

I dug my fingernails into my palm, trying to stop myself from slapping him in the face.

I watched Remus's face turn red as he said, "You don't need to interfere in everyone's lives you know!"

That was the last straw. I couldn't control my anger any more and I stood up, a furious look on my face. Me? immature? He was the one with a permanent stick up his ass!

"Excuse you?! You just shut everyone out! Maybe if you weren't so afraid of getting hurt you'd see that there are so many people who would love to get to know you! I was just trying to help you and what do I get in return? You screaming in my face! You act like you're such a nice person but you know what you are? A self deprecating, self- absorbed prick!" I said furiously and then proceeded to shove him.

He didn't respond and I didn't allow him to because I was out of there, I didn't care about the fact that I had left my bag there. I just needed to leave and get away from all of his crap. I still couldn't believe it. Remus, the good and kind one. He rarely yelled and when he did it was never at me - never! I was so angry that I was running and with no idea where I was going. That was probably the best depiction of my life. Winnie Powers, a girl who was constantly running with no idea where to go. I laughed bitterly as I felt tears prick my eyes. I was not going to cry. Especially not over someone as _stupid_ as Remus Lupin.

"Hey Winnie!" Someone called out at me, I looked up and saw that it was Frank Longbottom. He was smiling his usual bright smile, normally I would've smiled and chatted but I was definitely in no mood to talk to anyone.

"Frank, this isn't a good time!" I said, irritated.

He then took in my state and his smile disappeared and was replaced with a look of concern, "Winnie you alright?"

I struggled to get words out of my mouth that weren't cuss words. "No, I am not okay. Just- I'm sorry but I have to go." I said as nicely as I could before I pushed past him and walked away.

Somehow I found myself on the astronomy tower. Classes here wouldn't start until midnight so I knew for sure that it was abandoned. I found a corner and just sat there, fuming with anger. What really annoyed me was the fact that Sirius and James didn't try to stop him! Before I realized it tears were falling freely from my eyes.

This was officially one of the worst days of my life.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey everyone I kind of wanted to tell you guys that English is not my first language so if you see some mistakes please private message me or just bear with me. Thanks a lot and I hope you enjoy! This chapter is a bit of a short one just so you know.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything related to it I only own my OC Winnie Powers.

Chapter 6

Stupid Remus! Everything he had said to me made me feel awful. I was in no way an immature child! I was so angry that I felt the need to do something to take out my anger, I looked at the wall and punched it. Literally.

I regretted it a moment later when pain suddenly shot up my arm, I winced and put my head on my knees, regretting every decision I had made in my life so far.

"Winnie?" A familiar voice said. James.

I sighed in frustration and quickly wiped my tears, "Go away, James before I curse you into oblivion!" my voice said shakily.

He approached me and chuckled softly before sitting next to me against the wall, I crossed my arms and kept my gaze solely on the ground afraid if I looked up then James would see how much of a mess I was.

"You sound a bit like Lily now.." He awkwardly laughed and nudged me, "You okay?"

I looked up, wiped my tears and glared at him, "What do you think?"

He put a comforting arm around my shoulder, "Winnie, everything that Remus said was a lie and I'm a hundred percent certain that he didn't mean any of it. At all."

I shook my head, "It doesn't matter if he meant it or not! All I wanted was to make him happy and it just ended up blowing in my face."

He shot me a sympathetic look,"You know how Remus is like when the full moon is near, he gets all cranky and stuff."

I scoffed, "Cranky, yes. But does he scream in your face and embarrass you in front of everybody?" I said, angrily.

He ran a hand through his hair, "Winnie, maybe you should talk to him. He kept telling us over and over again how much he regrets what he told you. I truly think believe that he didn't mean a word of what he said."

"If he didn't mean it, why would he say it?" I rhetorically asked.

"Ever heard of the saying, Never talk when your angry and never promise when your happy? Besides, he's been that way since he woke up. He yelled at Peter for not wearing his tie , fought with Sirius about the stupidest thing in the world and then he fought with you. I highly doubt that it wasn't from being a werewolf."

I pondered his words. Maybe he was right, I mean Remus never was like this to me - I supposed it could've been because of the werewolf thing.

"How'd you find me anyways?" I asked, after a moment of silence.

He pulled out the marauders map from his pocket and shot me an apologetic smile.

"Of course." I huffed. "You know sometimes I want to burn that thing." I said making him laugh.

His gaze suddenly ended up on the hand that punched the wall, "Winnie, why is your hand red?"

I looked at my now bruised and swollen hand and groaned, "Oh..I punched a wall."

"You punched a wall? Why?" He asked with disbelief.

"I was angry. I would've punched you instead if I knew how painful it would be." I said annoyed.

"Do you want to go to Madam Pomfrey?" He asked.

I shook my head, "No, it's fine. I'll fix it," I paused. "You know this is greatly ruining my chance of having the best year ever." I said, feeling a lot better.

He laughed, "Come on, Dot. Let's go." He said and stood up, offering his hand which I took. He then began to lead us out of the astronomy tower before he paused and turned around, "Wait. I forgot something."

I lifted a brow, did he forget the map or something? I turned around to find nothing there but when I turned back I found myself in the arms of James Potter. I felt the tears threaten to leave my eyes and it took everything in me not to cry in his warm embrace. I wrapped my limp arms around him and he gave me one final squeeze before he let me go.

He put his warm hand on my cheek, "Don't let me ever see you cry again, okay? I just can't bear it."

I somehow lost the ability to speak, act or think so I just nodded meekly and followed him leave the astronomy tower.

* * *

"Winnie! Winnie! Is it true?" A loud voice said, thankfully it was a girl's voice said shaking me.

I peaked my head out of the sheets, trying to see who it was. After the little incident I had today I decided to do what I did best. Run to the common room as quickly as I could, then take a long nap and try to avoid any/all of my responsibilities.

"Whazgoingon?" I mumbled, trying to clear my vision. It was Marlene McKinnon.

She laughed, "It's four in the afternoon - wake up sleepy head."

I yawned, "What is true?"

She bit her lip, "Well, I heard a couple of girls talking about it in lunch today but I know that they're the biggest gossipers so I thought I'd come to you instead- I hope you don't think I'm prying or anything but I guess it's better to actually speak to someone who was there instead of just assuming, y'know?" Marlene rambled.

It was too early for my brain to process anything she was saying so I just said, "Marlene- what are you talking about?!"

She scratched her head, "I- um I meant the fight."

I sighed, of course the whole school had heard about that. "I fought with Remus. The end."

She tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, "Yeah, I heard. But I was talking about the fight that happened between Remus and Sirius. The one about you?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, confusion evident on my face.

"Oh? You weren't there? That's weird. Basically, Sirius was really angry at Remus and they were shouting their heads off to the point where McGonnagall interfered! Then when McGonnagall found them they were pointing their wands at each other."

"How do you know they were fighting over me?"

"Because Sirius was yelling, "If you ever say anything like that to Winnie again I'll turn you into a blind toad" I personally loved the blind toad bit but I just don't understand how Remus could ever act that way."

I felt kind of happy knowing that Sirius did stick up for me but I was deeply surprised knowing that they had fought. This day was ultimately and surely getting worse.

"Yeah, me too." I responded bleakly.

Marlene chatted with me for a bit before I decided that there was no point sitting in my room and that I had to get up, get out and have a conversation with Remus Lupin.

As I walked down the stairs of the girl's dorms onto the common room I could see four backs facing me who were all talking to McGonnagall. Well, more like being shouted at by McGonnagall.

"I expected this behavior from Black or Potter! but certainly not from you Remus, I am very ashamed."

"I'm ashamed of myself, Professor." He said remorseful.

She then saw me and narrowed her eyes, "What are you doing here Ms. Powers?"

I tugged my collar nervously, "I'm here to speak with them actually."

She studied me for a moment, "Maybe you can knock some sense into them, though I highly doubt it." She then turned to the boys, "If any of you repeat an action like this again you can bid Hogwarts goodbye." She said strictly then turned around and proceeded to leave the Gryffindor common room.

Sirius let out a breath of relief, "Thank Godric that's over, I thought she was going to bite my head off."

"She was so cross, I'm sure she could've." Peter said.

Remus then turned to me with regret in his eyes, "Winnie, I'm sorry. I truly, truly am. I didn't mean it when I said you were immature I was just so angry because of the full moon - please believe me - I'm so sorry." He looked like he was about to cry which made my heart pang, his usual combed hair was messy and his clothes were wrinkled and crumpled up, I assumed it had something to do with the fight because Sirius looked the same.

I sighed, "Okay, okay. Fine, I accept your apology for now because of the full moon thing but once it's over I will get revenge."

He nodded, "I wouldn't expect anything less from you."

I laughed and then punched him in his arm, really hard. I then realized a moment later when pain shot up my arm that I had punched him with the same hand that was bruised and swollen, we both winced and I clutched my hand as he clutched his arm.

"Merlin's left toe, that hurts. You know what, just fix my hand and I'll forgive you." I said, in pain.

He pointed his wand at my hand, "Episkey." I felt a strange warmth travel down my arm and onto my hand and fingers, then it was replaced by a rush of cold and then I felt perfectly fine.

"Your turn," I muttered and he shut his eyes bracing himself. "Episkey!"

A moment later he opened his eyes and grabbed his arm, "Thanks." he panted.

"Forget what I said about forgiving you, I'm still pissed."

He groaned, "Winnie please I'm really _really_ really sorry, how many times do I have to apologize to you so you know I'm being genuine?"

"How about ten million times?" I said with a poker face.

"Winnie, you are one of the only people I trust and care about in this world. Please, forgive me - I don't want to lose you too." He sounded really genuine when he said that.

I suddenly burst into laughter, "That was so dramatic, Moony."

A smile suddenly filled his face, "Wait- so we're okay?"

I nodded, laughing. "We're okay. But I heard a little fight happened between you and Sirius."

I turned around to find Sirius laughing with James and Peter on the couch, I approached Sirius and raised my eyebrow. "What happened between you and Moony?"

He shrugged, "Not much- we fought and got busted by Minerva and then now we're fine."

"Thats it?" I asked shocked, surprised he didn't mention what the fight was about.

"Yeah?" He said with a suspicious look on his face. "Why?"

He didn't mention the fact that they were fighting about me so I just smiled innocently and let it go. Even if he wasn't going to admit it I was still happy that he cared. Sirius and I weren't as close as James and I and I always felt like there was some sort of competition between us because we were the two closest people to James but over the years the competition between us started to die down.

"No reason."


	7. Chapter 7

I don't have much to say except thank you for everyone who has been reading so far, it really makes me happy to know that I'm not just writing for nobody. Anyway please review, favorite and follow if you can. Thanks for everything.

Chapter 7

It was early in the morning way before school hours; the birds were chirping, the sun was slowly starting to peak out and luckily for me the marauders were fast asleep. I snuck up the boys staircase and slowly crept into their room, shutting the door as quietly as I could and looking for James's bed. My eyes scanned the room and easily found the boy with messed up hair. I grinned and moved towards the trunk of his bed, slowly opening it and grabbing what I needed.

The invisibility cloak.

I slowly shut the trunk and like a mouse I quickly got out of there. I wrapped the thin material around myself and exited the common room making my way to the library. The hallways were deserted and I was sure that the only ones that were awake were the ghosts and probably- Argus Filch the caretaker with his annoying devil cat.

'Alohamora," I muttered when I reached the locked library door. For once in my life, the odds were in my favor because it suddenly unlocked. I let out a sigh of relief, thankfully Madam Pince wasn't smart enough to put a charm on the library to keep students out. I moved towards the restricted section, the section that you were only allowed to enter if you had a note from a professor.

My eyes scanned the shelves, I saw books I had never knew existed before and many books about the forbidden dark arts. My eyes landed on the book I needed to find the most. The book about werewolves, I opened it slightly to see if it would start screaming at my face but fortunately for me - it stayed quiet. But before I had a chance to read it, the light flickered on and Madam Pince walked in. My eyes widened and I quickly took the book and hid it under the cloak.

"Who's in here?!" Madam Pince screeched. She then proceeded to walk around the library trying to see who it was that cast a spell on the lock. She was about to cross into the restricted section but thank Godric, she chose not to.

"Stupid kids.." Madam Pince mumbled to herself.

I looked at the clock on the wall, it was five o' clock. I remembered that for next time I tried to sneak in here, I took the chance to point my wand at my feet and mutter the silencing spell so when I left, she wouldn't hear me. Madam Pince sighed frustratedly at the pile of work on her desk and got up, making herself a drink. I took this chance to leave before she noticed one of the books were missing.

I had never run so fast in my life.

* * *

"You know the funniest thing happened when I woke up today." James voice said as he sat down next to me in the great hall, I put a piece of toast in my mouth and nodded.

I swallowed, "I don't want to know."

He rested his hand on his cheek and laughed sarcastically, "No, no you'll laugh. I woke up and guess what I didn't find? My cloak. Isn't that hilarious?"

Oh no, I still had the cloak in my bag.

I laughed awkwardly, "Wow, isn't that just the strangest thing?" He knew.

He narrowed his eyes at me and gave me a mistrustful look. "What did you do?"

I scoffed, shooting him one of my innocent looks. "Excuse me? I am offended James Potter! You assume that if something goes missing it must have to do with me? That is incredibly rude." I said, getting up to leave before he gently grabbed my arm and sat me down.

"Winnie don't play dumb. I know it was you- you're the only one who's bothered enough to wake up that early. Now what did you do?" He shot me a concerned/amused look.

I touched the loose strands of my hair. "Ask me in a couple of hours." I said blankly.

He raised his eyebrow, "A couple of hours? why?"

"Let's just say that I am the best friend any friend could ever have." I said smugly.

"What does that have to do with anything?" He gave me a confused look.

"Just wait and see, Potter. Wait and see." I took another bite of my toast.

"Godric, you're weird. How am I even friends with you?" He asked, mostly to himself.

I laughed and then remembered something important, "Oh! could you tell the teachers that I'm sick with the flu?"

He chuckled, "Alright, can I ask why?"

I took another bite of the toast. "You can but you're not going to get an answer."

"I thought as much." He shrugged.

I grabbed my bag and swung it over my shoulder then I proceeded to pat him on the head, "Thanks Potter. See you." I said and winked. James Potter just shook his head and smiled.

Once I was out of hearing and seeing capacity I carefully and swiftly took out the invisibility cloak and made my way to the potions cabinet, the private cabinet that belonged to the school where all the ingredients were stored. I opened the (surprisingly) unlocked door and grabbed the ingredients that I needed.

I found myself in the astronomy tower once again! The werewolf book open in front of me as well as the ingredients to make wolfsbane potion. Wolfsbane potion was a potion that werewolves took every day a week before the full moon to relieve the symptoms of lycanthropy or as I like to call it 'wolf disease' basically the potion allowed the user to have more control over what he was doing and also prevents a werewolf from going insane. Basically I was doing this for Remus, because despite the fight we had- he was still one of my best friends and he was still suffering each month. I felt like it was my moral duty to at least help him in some way.

I glanced at the book infront of me, "Monkshood..ashwinder eggs..mandrake and moonstone." I said, reading the ingredients out loud. The potion was incredibly complex, but I had nothing to lose. Except my life of course.

I carefully and skillfully added the ingredients, I had never been so detail-oriented in my life. The potion suddenly changed into a lavender color when I had finished. My eyes widened, wasn't it supposed to turn blue?! A moment later a faint blue smoke rose from the potion and thankfully, it had turned light blue. Like it should have.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, "YES!" I said grinning.

I carefully put the potion into seven vials and kept the rest in a large jar for next month, a wide smile attached to my face - the sort of smile that made you look like you had a hanger in your mouth. I looked up and realized that the sun had gone down, how long had I been here? That didn't matter all that mattered was that I had finished the potion.

Finally, I could actually help.

I skipped into the common room happily, but was surprised when I couldn't find the boys between all the students there.

"Anyone seen the boys?" I asked no one in particular.

"They're upstairs apparently Remus came down with a cold." a short red-head said.

I smiled and thanked her politely before I ran up the boys stairs. Oh no, he had already began to feel tired - one of the side affects of lycanthropy. I knocked on the door twice and waited. Nobody came to the door, I rolled my eyes and just walked in, unfazed. They were all sitting around Remus's bed, chatting quietly and looking very..serious.

"Hey everyone!" I said happily before I took in their expressions, "Whats wrong?"

"Remus is acting like a baby." Sirius said crossing his arms.

He laughed bitterly, "Yeah, sorry I can't toughen up and be like you mate."

He narrowed his eyes at him. "Whats that supposed to mean?"

"Guys- stop." James said warningly.

"No, if you've got something to say Remus. Don't be shy - spit it out, then." Sirius said fiercely.

I decided it was time I interfered, "You'll be happy to hear that I have found a solution to your problem, Remus." I said loudly, getting their attentions.

"What? you found me a cure to stop me from being a werewolf?" He asked spitefully.

I sat on the edge of his bed, "Yes and no." I took out one of the vials from my bag. "Remus, I found you something that can alleviate the symptoms. Something that won't cure you but will make it a lot easier to deal with."

"Wolfsbane." He said breathlessly and sat up, taking the vial. "Where did you get this?"

"I- um I made it." I said nervously, tucking a curly strand of hair behind my ear.

His eyes looked like they were going to fall out his face. "You made it? How?"

"Is this what you took my cloak for?" James asked.

I nodded at him and turned to Remus, "It doesn't matter how just take it please. It'll help, I promise. But if you die, it's not my fault!"

He took it all at once and then made a disgusted face, "That's repulsive.." he said making everyone laughed. His gaze then fell on me. "I don't know what to say Winnie, honestly. I-"

I cut him off. "Okay, save the sentiments for another time. I'm just- I'm just glad I could help." I said the last part shyly.

"You didn't just help, Winnie. You saved his life." Sirius smiled softly at me, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah, good on you mate." James grinned.

"Good job." Peter muttered and avoided my gaze.

"Thanks a lot, Winnie." Remus said, with a smile.

I felt myself grow hot from all the attention I was getting, "Thanks guys -Oh!" I suddenly remembered and took the six vials out of my bag and handed it to him. "You have to take these for the next six days, alright? If they work then you can sleep through the transformation."

"I can sleep through it?" He asked, his tone was a mix between happiness and shock.

I nodded, "Yeah."

Sirius looked between us and said, "I don't mean to ruin the mood here or anything but I'm starving- anyone want to go to the kitchens?"

James looked like he had been awakened, "Yes! finally, lets go." He said, grinning and then turned to Peter. "You coming, Wormtail?"

Wormtail nodded and followed them out of the room then paused and mumbled a quick goodbye to me and Remus. I wasn't sure if Sirius was actually hungry (probably) or if he was trying to leave me alone with Remus. I figured it was a mixture of both.

"Winnie, I just want to tell you how much this means to me." Remus began. "I know you'll call me a sentimental idiot but just hear me out, okay? You're probably one of the best people I have ever met in my entire life. I mean, two days ago we were fighting and you still- you still made me this. How many people do you know would do something like that? You have no idea what this means to me, Winnie. I-just thank you."

I was touched, he had never said anything so honest and meaningful like that to me. I wanted to say something- anything! But I didn't really know how to behave in emotional situations so I just gave him a big hug which he quickly responded to by wrapping his arms around me, the hug was warm and peaceful - a bit like him. After a long minute, I pulled away and gave him with a smile and said:

"You're welcome, Moony."


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi everyone! I hope you're all doing well. I just wanted to ask a quick question - do you guys think I'm rushing too much into the story? Or do you think I'm going to slow? Anyway, please tell me via private message or by leaving a review. Also, who do you think Winnie should end up with? It won't be my final decision but I'm just genuinely curious.**

Chapter 8

Hours later we were all sitting in the common room, near the fireplace. For some reason, we would always find it empty no matter what time it was during the day. Had we claimed it without even knowing? Probably.

Sirius leaned against the wall, "But isn't wolfsbane one of the hardest and most complex potions known to man?" He asked calmly.

They were still talking about the potion I had made. I watched as all of their gazes turned to me .I looked away nervously trying to hide the growing red glow on my face. I hadn't expected them to react this way, it was sort of embarrassing actually.

"I guess- Look! the point is, I made the potion to help remus with his little problem. The end!" I said, not meeting any of their gazes.

Sirius laughed his usual bark-like laughter, "Aw, Winnie's embarrassed." He teased and wrapped his arms around me, putting his chin on my head. I rolled my eyes and tried to remove his hands but since he was six foot a million and was three times as strong as me, that didn't happen.

"Get off me before I-" I said, annoyedly.

Stupid Sirius cut me off and laughed, "Before you what? Bite my head off?"

"Before I turn you into a blind toad." I smirked.

His body froze and he removed his hands off of me, I watched as recognition washed over him. His shocked face was soon replaced by his usual smirk and loud laugh.

"So you did know what the fight was about! that was why you were asking me about it wasn't it? You just wanted to hear me say it, didn't you Dot? Aw, that's cute." He then proceeded to ruffle my curly hair, which made it even more tangled than it usually was.

"Hey don't do that!" I growled and tried to un-mess my curly hair, which didn't exactly work.

"Are you in love with me, Winnie? _Are you_?" He teased me, his grey eyes sparkling with amusement.

I crossed my arms and faced him. "Why do you always ask me that? Are you in love with me, Sirius? _Huh_?!"

He looked like he was going to come up with a witty retort before James gave us a confused look and said:

"ًWhat are you two talking about?" James asked.

Sirius walked over to James and lazily draped his arm around his shoulder, "Well Prongs, the other day Remus and I had a fight about this one," he winked at me and continued. "And then she asks me about what happened and innocently pretended to ask about the fight as if she didn't know, then! she brings up a sentence I said that was about her. Isn't that downright wicked?"

"That still doesn't make sense." James said confused.

"I was in that fight and it doesn't make sense." Remus laughed.

"Who cares about that fight - can't we move on with our lives?" Peter said, surprisingly.

We all turned to him shocked, it had seemed as if he had taken some bravery along with his morning tea because he was well- courageous for once. For some reason, we complied. The subject slowly drifted away from the potion (thankfully) and the fight and onto more 'important' topics like why the new Nimbus broom was going to be the best broom in the world or how in Merlin's beard we were going to pass this year.

"I don't suppose you've heard about the incident that happened this week." I said, lowly.

James nodded, "Yeah, Lily cut her hair. It's only a few inches, but I dunno - she looks kind of different but in a good way." He ran his hand through his hair and leaned back onto the chair.

I rolled my eyes, "No you muppet." I laughed and then lowered my voice, all hint of amusement gone. "The thing that happened in Knockturn Alley."

Recognition flashed through his hazel eyes, "The one where six muggle-borns 'disappeared' into thin air." He laughed bitterly.

"Exactly, The ministry is trying to cover it up - pretend nothing's happening. Like we don't know that Voldermort is planning something with his army of goons." I said, angrily.

They all took intakes of breath when I said _his_ name. Peter looked like he was going to faint in his seat.

Sirius was the first to speak. "I reckon a bunch of Slytherins are ready to become death eaters," We all gave him blank stares "That's their name. Death eaters."

Voldermort and his army were just getting popular so I wasn't surprsied about the fact that no one besides Sirius didn't exactly know what death eaters were. I assumed he knew because, well. He was a Black.

"It's awful, you know. Knowing that you're no longer safe. Plus I'm a muggle born so that doesn't exactly help." I laughed, despite myself.

Remus's head snapped towards mine, "Don't say that, Winnie." He said quietly.

"What? you want me to deny the truth, Remus? The fact that Voldermort and his death eaters are growing means that I'm at risk and I'll bet you all five galleons I won't make it till thirty." I said with a grin. I don't know why I was smiling, it was more like I was trying to see what he could say to prove me wrong. Like I was testing him.

They all went silent and I knew I was right. The fact that I would most likely be the first one to die gave me a sense of freedom, in a way. Like, I had this power to do whatever I wanted because I was going to die. This feeling made me want to cut off all my hair, jump out of a plane and just do something crazy. For once, I felt like I wanted to live.

"I want to do something about it." Sirius said, making us all turn our attention to him. "I want to be an auror."

A lightbulb flickered on in James head because he excitedly grinned and said: "That is an excellent idea, Padfoot. We _should_ be aurors."

"Hmm, I don't know I think I'd quite like to be a writer or a teacher, maybe. Though I'm sure that'll never happen." Remus said with a small smile. "What about you guys?" He directed the last part to Peter and I.

Peter shrugged, "I don't know..maybe a shop owner or something."

I fiddled with my hands. "I want to be a healer." I said, impetuously. My eyes glanced at all of them who were giving me shocked and impressed looks, once more and as usual I was embarrassed.

"Healer Winnie, yeah I quite like that." Sirius smirked.

I raised my eyebrows, "Well it's a good thing I'm not doing it for you, isn't it?" I said, making everyone laugh at our banter.

There it was, our conversations drifted away like the sea. That's how it usually was for us, sometimes it bothered me that we couldn't be serious but other times I think, it's better that way. It's better to forget about the world for a bit and just enjoy what is now.

* * *

I pulled my hair into a loose ponytail as I walked to the greenhouses for Herbology, I was quietly murmuring a song that I had heard a couple of days ago when I heard a loud, screechy voice shouting at somebody. Feeling that it was my moral duty to go help, I followed that noise and wasn't surprised when I found a girl yelling at Sirius Black.

The girl was Cassandra Venus, a tiny girl with shiny sleek black hair and very, _very_ pale skin. "You're the worst Sirius Orion Black!" she said and threw a book at him. He ducked just in time so that he wouldn't get hit. I was quite surprised and amused about at how a girl who was probably five foot two or shorter was full-on yelling at Sirius Black.

"Crystal calm down-" Sirius said trying to calm her down but was cut off by another screech.

"My name is Cassandra you vile, two-timing prick!"

I sniggered making them both turn to look at me. Relief flashed in Sirius's grey eyes as he saw me approaching them, he scratched the back of his neck and darted his eyes between Cassandra and I as if saying 'get me out of here'. I shot him a quick smile as if to say 'I got this' even thought I had no idea what I was doing. But you know what they say, when in doubt..improvise.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What's going on here?" I said, looking between them.

"Finally someone with a brain is here!" Cassandra huffed angrily and then pointed at Sirius, "This lunatic and I go out on a date and he tells me a bunch of lies about how beautiful and smart I am and then you know what he does? He goes out with my sister! A week later!"

"You did what?!" I say, clamping a hand over my mouth to stifle my laughter, luckily for me it looked like I was staring in disbelief.

Sirius bites his lip, "I didn't know you were related!"

Cassandra glares at him, "We're twins you prick!" She then throws another book at him which hits him on his shoulder and then just pauses and turns away. "You know what hurts the most Sirius Black? Every time a girl dates you she thinks that maybe she'll be the one that's different. The one that'll tame the beast but like every other girl you realize that just doesn't happen and you just get hurt instead!" She said and then left.

I felt really bad for her and all the other girls who were constantly trying to get his attention and what really annoyed me the most was how blasé Sirius was acting about all of this. Just because he was so used to this happening didn't mean that it was okay.

"You're a right git, you know that?" I said abruptly as I watched him pick up his books.

"What did I do now?" He groaned.

"You can't treat girls like that, they're not tissues that you can use once and then throw away. Girls have this thing that you might not be familiar with it's called feelings!"

"Come on, Winnie. They should know that I'm not a long-term kind of guy." He said and tried to walk away from me.

I moved to stand in front of him so that he would pay attention to me once his grey eyes met my dark brown ones I began, "They do know that but the thing is _you_ make them feel special and then they forget about that and they think that they may be the one that, as she said 'tames the beast'. I don't think you realize the impact you have on these girls."

He sighed as if he had heard it all before, "Alright Winnie, I get it. But what am I supposed to do? Stop being handsome?"

I rolled my eyes at his cockiness, "No, I think you should just make it obvious to everyone that you're not looking for anything serious. Or maybe you should just find one girl and stick to her, for once in your life!"

"Find one girl? Do I look like James? Besides, none of these girls are actually interesting and if they are they dumb themselves down when I'm around." Sirius said and he started to walk towards class with me.

"Come on, Padfoot! They're must be one girl who you actually like or find interesting."

He shook his head, "Interesting? Yes, there are plenty of interesting girls but girls I like? No."

"Are there any girls you like at all? Even platonically?" I asked, sort of giving up on hope that I would ever help Sirius find love.

He stroked his chin and pretended to think about it, "Well, I like you..platonically of course. I like my cousin Andie and I like my owl Azul. There you go, three girls I like." He smiled.

I rolled my eyes, "So there is no hope." I said as we reached the Herbology class. He shook his head, eyes twinkling in amusement as he went to sit with Penelope his herbology partner and I went to sit with James who had his head on the table.

"Whats wrong with you?" I ask as I sit down.

"I'm lonely, Dot! Lonely I say." He said and sat up, turning to me.

I gave him a small smile, "Lily again?"

He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose "Do you think I should give up on her?" He asked unsurely.

I stopped. I didn't know what to say so that he wouldn't get hurt besides: "I think you should try."

"What do you mean I should try? I did what you told me- I left her alone but now she doesn't care about me anymore - like I predicted by the way! What do I do now?"

"Hmm," I pondered, moving my head from one side to another as if trying to catch a good idea. "James, maybe you should try to well - talk to other girls. I mean there are loads of girls who are dying to go out with you, who knows you might meet someone better?"

"Someone better than Lily? No way!" He said quite loudly, making the entire class turn to look at us - including Lily who was turning red from embarrassment.

I tried to suppress my snickers but I couldn't which eventually lead to me bursting out in laughter which in turn made James laugh which in turn caught Sirius's attention and made him laugh at our silliness and that my friends is the story of how we got detention and fifteen points taken away from Gryffindor. Each.

"It's like having fun isn't allowed in our school!" Said Sirius angrily as he mopped the floor

I rolled my eyes and continued dusting the cabinets, "Tell me about it." I muttered.

He gave me a confused look, "I am telling you about it?"

I laughed and kept on dusting, "Sorry- it's a muggle thing."

"Tell us about your muggle life, Winnie. You hardly talk about it." James said while he scrubbed the trophies with a toothbrush. McGonnagall's special punishment exclusively for James.

I shrugged, "I guess if you're a muggle born you feel like being from a non-wizard family is sort of embarrassing so most of us try not to bring it up." I then paused to think about my life. "There's not much to tell, before Hogwarts I had a cat named button - she died. I went to muggle school for a few years, which was awful and in the muggle world our pictures don't move."

"Your pictures don't move? That's weird." Sirius said shocked. If only he knew how mundane life as a muggle truly was it would blow his mind.

"To you! seeing moving pictures and talking portraits were the strangest thing to me." I say remembering how confused I was when my brother Greg showed me a moving picture for the first time.

"Muggles." James said, shaking his head ever so slightly.

I playfully rolled my eyes, "Yeah muggles."


	9. Chapter 9

Special shout out to user EG for the nice reviews! who doesn't ship James x Winnie?! They are adorable.

Please review, favorite, follow whatever. That keeps me going.

Also I don't own anything except My OC Winnie Powers.

Chapter 9

"I know it was you, Powers! I swear to Salazar that I'll get you- you mudblood!" Mulciber said, wiping off the excess sludge that was on him, his face and body were turning ruby red and his hands were shaking as if he was going to strangle me any minute now though I hardly thought that was going to happen with McGonnagall standing next tome.

"Mr. Mulciber! I will not tolerate that kind of language in this classroom. Detention, tonight and tomorrow night and I will be speaking to Professor Slughorn about this outrageous use of language. I suggest you go to the washroom and remove this" Minerva pointed to his face "Filth that is on you."

I smirked, "Yeah Mulciber wipe that filth off."

"Ms. Powers, I suggest you take a seat." McGonnagall said, sharply.

I smiled and gave her a two-finger salute and took a seat next to Benjy Fenwick, a relatively nice Ravenclaw boy who was probably the most sarcastic and witty person I ever met. After me, of course. I had only spoken to him a handful of times, usually during Divination due to the fact that he was my partner and probably the funniest dream interpreter in the universe.

I nudged him, "Hey Benjamin, what are we supposed to do again?"

He rolled his eyes, "It's Benjy, Winifred." He said mockingly, "We're supposed to do the bird-conjuring charm but I guess you were a little distracted with Mulciber over there." He then motioned with his eyes to Mulciber who was full on glaring at me.

I gave Mulciber a little wave before turning to Benjy, "You know what? I think he likes me." I laughed.

He played along and nodded, "Mhm, don't be surprised if you get a love letter from Mulciber or perhaps poisoned chocolates, thought I doubt he's capable of that."

I scoffed, "I'm surprised he can brush his teeth in the morning, let alone poison chocolates."

He laughed, flashing me his pearly white teeth. "Quiet, Winnie you're distracting me- we're supposed to be working."

I chuckled, "Sorry, I forgot you're a Ravenclaw."

"How prejudice as usual, Gryffindor." He grinned, slightly leaning towards me.

"I try." I grinned cockily, he raised his brow but said nothing. I took this as the perfect time to say the bird-conjuring spell and release a flock of birds from my wand..right at Mulciber.

"Ms. Powers! That is unacceptable! Five points from Gryffindor." McGonnagall said unamused and in an instant zapped the birds away.

"Whoa! sorry about that Mulciber, guess my hand slipped." I said, with a small shrug.

Mulciber turned to me and mouthed, 'mudblood'. That one word sent shivers down my spine but I did what any other stupidly brave Gryffindor did, I smiled back.

The reason I seemed to always go after Mulciber was the fact that he used to bully me and a lot of other people in fourth year, due to my blood status and the fact that I was quite short back then. Mulciber used to curse and hex me when the boys were around and back then, I accepted it. Because that's what every other muggle-born did. But last year when Mulciber and Mulciber used dark magic on Mary I swore to myself that I would never again let him do anything to me or anybody else. So I decided to give him a taste of his own medicine whenever I got the chance, sort of like a way to tell him that I wasn't afraid of him or his group of idiot friends.

"Winnie, just between me and you I think you should really be careful." Benjy muttered to me, solemnly.

I laughed it off, "Don't worry about it, Benjy." I said, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

"I'm not kidding, Winnie..Mulciber's not right in the head, you know what he did to Mary." He whispered.

My eyes flashed dangerously, "I'm not afraid of him, Benjy."

He gave me a half-smile, "I know. That's exactly why I'm telling you to watch your back. You don't know what he's planning, Winnie."

I returned the smile, "Thanks for the tip, Fenwick but I'll be all right." I said with a wink.

He gave me an uneasy smile and went back to trying to conjure birds out of his wand.

Despite my calm exterior his words did actually leave me thinking. Was Mulciber potentially planning something? I couldn't kid myself and say no because I knew that I was already on his hate list, but still. Did he plan on hurting me? That thought alone made me lose my cool but at the same time lit a fire inside of me. A fire fueled by revenge and anger. If Mulciber was planning something, I knew one thing for sure. I was going to be ready.

I lay on the bed in a pensive trance, staring at the ceiling while simultaneously twirling a quill in my hand. Remus was the first one to question my silence, he had been staring at me for a long time and I could tell that he was waiting for me to say something which I didn't.

"You alright, Winnie?" He asked softly, giving me a small smile.

I nodded, "Yeah, you?"

"I'm fine but I don't think you are. What's going on?" He asked nonchalantly but I could tell that he wanted to know what was going on.

I sat up and proceeded to move my hair out of my face.

"Fenwick told me something today. It kind of.. I don't know? startled me, I guess?" I said, running a hand through my hair.

"Did he tell you about his foot fetish?" Sirius piped up.

"What?!" I said, snapping my head towards Sirius.

"Only joking, love! But what did he tell you?" He said, raising a brow

"I know, he probably told her that he's Ravenclaw's new captain. Smug prick." James said, annoyed.

I rolled my eyes, "No you idiots."

Just before I was going to tell them, I stopped and contemplated if I should tell them or not. I mean it would only make them worry about me and they already worried about me enough. But on the other hand, I wasn't very good at lying to them and I knew that if I didn't tell them then they would eventually hound Benjy down and force him to tell them.

"Just tell us already!" James said impatiently.

I put my hands up in surrender, "Alright! He said to watch out for Mulciber."

"What?" They all said simultaneously, which was quite creepy actually.

"Why would you need to watch out for Mulciber?" Peter asked, surprising me,

"Are you thick? Do you see how she annoys him? It's downright hilarious." Sirius said, laughing.

I bit my lip and continued, "He told me that he was sure that Mulciber was planning something and that I had to be careful because I'm not exactly on Mulciber's list of favorite people am I?"

"Yeah, but Mulciber hasn't done anything so far so he probably won't do anything now." James said, ironically.

My eyes met the floor. I had never told them about the bullying I experienced from Mulciber because first, they had enough on their plate and I didn't want them to worry about me. Secondly, it was embarrassing, I was already known as the girl who was friends with the marauders I didn't want Mulciber to think that I needed them to defend my honor. Even though, I rarely did defend my honor.

"Winnie," James said sternly. I recognized that tone, it was the tone he always used when he wanted to get information out of me.

"Did he- Did he do something to you?" Sirius said, edging closer to me. I look up at him and see all hint of laughter and amusement in his grey eyes gone all that was there was a concerned look that all the girls in Hogwarts dreamed of.

I sighed, "He didn't exactly hurt me- as in the way he hurt Mary. But there were several hexes and jinxes and the use of the word mudblood from time to time-"

I was cut off by a sharp intake of breath.

"You never thought to tell us?!" James said, clenching his jaw.

"I didn't want to worry you, you guys already have enough to deal with." I said, awkwardly.

"How could you think that? How could you possibly think that?" Remus said exasperated.

"Does he still bother you?" Peter asked, uncertainly.

My eyes met him and my frown was replaced with a small smile, "No way, I bother him. It's kind of like my personal form of revenge." I said and laughed, trying to ease the mood. Which didn't exactly work.

"When did this happen? The bullying, I mean." Sirius asked and gently tugged on my arm, making me look at him. I avoided his inquisitive eyes that felt like they were peering into my very soul.

"Fourth year to the beginning of fifth, but when I heard about the Mary incident. I started to fight back. He hexed me once, I hexed him three times. He makes fun of me, I turn him temporarily blind. It became sort of like a contest, in a way. But then he started to leave me alone, I guess he realized I wasn't an easy target." I said, a smirk growing on my lips.

It was nice to hear that out loud and I hoped that they realized that just because I was a girl, that didn't mean I was weaker than any of them. Or that I couldn't take care of myself.

"I'm impressed, Dot." James said, looking quite proud actually.

"Don't call me that." I said with a smile.

"But why didn't you fight back in the first place? I mean, you obviously could have. But you didn't. Why?" Sirius pried, trying to get me to look at him but my gaze was focused on everything but him.

I stood up and shrugged, "I don't know. I guess I felt like he was superior to me because he's a pure blood. So I just did what the other muggle-borns did. I accepted it."

"You should've told us, Winnie." Remus said while shaking his head disapprovingly, the same way my brother Greg would if I did something wrong.

"It doesn't matter anyway, it's over. But the thing is, when Fenwick warned me about him he kind of freaked me out. But at the same time, I want him to try something so I can send him to Madam Pomfrey's." I said, putting a hand on my hip.

"I think Mulciber should be afraid of you, Winnie." Sirius said, laughing slightly.

James nodded, "Have you seen her bat-bogey hex?"

I grinned, "Greg taught me that one!"

They all burst into laughter and I knew I was off the hook, for now of course. But I was one hundred percent sure that now they would be watching me like hawks especially if Mulciber and his gang of idiots were around.

"Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?" James said after a moment, making all of us direct our heads towards him. James leaned casually against the bed frame with a grin, while he twirled his wand between his fingers.

"That there is no hope for banshees in modern day society?" Remus asked.

"I agree but no," he said amused, "It's time to teach Mulciber a lesson."

"What am I supposed to do again?" Peter said uneasily, glancing up nervously at Sirius and James.

Sirius rolled his eyes impatiently, "Like I said Wormtail, you take this" He handed him a large goblet that was filled to the brim with a purple liquid. "And accidentally spill it on Mulciber and his goons."

Peter gulped, "But they'll kill me."

James nodded, "That's where we'll heroically come in and save the day!"

I laughed as I imagined Sirius and James in muggle superhero costumes saving the day.

"Oi Prongs, what's in that potion anyway?" I asked.

James put his finger to his lips and ssshed me "It's a secret." He said with a wink.

"Oh, is that right?" I said flatly.

Sirius then turned to Remus and I, "Now you too. Get out." He moved towards us and helped us off the couch (with much resistance from me) and shoved us towards the door.

"Now isn't that the nicest thing you've heard all day?" Remus said sarcastically.

"Sorry, loves. But can't have you two here. Go to the Great Hall, go to the library - go snog for all I care! I just need you get two out of here." Sirius said as he pushed us towards the door.

I rolled my eyes but complied none the less and headed towards the Great Hall with Remus, it was almost time for dinner anyway.

"D'you reckon they're gonna blow something up?" Remus murmured as we sat down.

Chuckling I replied, "Don't they always?"

A few minutes later Peter ran in, looking as if he had witnessed murder. His eyes were huge and his face was white as a sheet, I could tell that he was trembling a bit too.

"Alright, Pete?" Remus asked as he took in his face.

Peter just shook his head and said nothing.

A few seconds later Sirius and James barged in and took a seat, huge smiles on their faces. Not just any huge smiles, their signature mischievous smiles that alerted every one in the great hall that something was going to happen very soon. Suddenly the food appeared on the table and everyone waited. The air was tense. What was going to happen?

You know what did happen?

Absolutely nothing.

It was like we were waiting for a bomb to explode, everyone was nervous - too nervous to talk. But after a moment of realizing that nothing was happening everyone began questioning why everything and everyone was still intact.

"Thats it?" A Hufflepuff girl asked.

"Screw them, I'm hungry!" Said a Ravenclaw and began to eat his food, which somehow made everyone forget the prank and turn their attention to their food and to their friends.

I turned to Sirius, "What-"

BAM! an explosion was heard making everyone jump up and turn to look at the Slytherin table where Mulciber and his goons were sitting, but instead of heads on their bodies there were pumpkins! Actual pumpkins on their head! The room broke out into laughter at the sight of them, they looked at each other with angry faces and tried to silence the laughter.

Suddenly a whizzing noise emerged out of nowhere and flew above our heads, it looked like a sphere but it was slowly breaking down piece by piece and then all of a sudden it turned into a green snake that flew across The Great Hall and releasing a purple colored liquid that splattered across each and every single student, dying their skin, hair and eye color with the color of their house. Then in an instant the snake collided with itself and formed confetti which rained across the Great Hall.

It was like everyone had come to life, there were shouts and screams and shrieks of laughter, anger and happiness. I looked at my hand which had turned into a crimson color, my hair that was once the darkest shade of brown was now a lively golden color. The Ravenclaws turned blue and bronze, the Hufflepuffs were pale yellow and black and the Slytherins were a sickly shade of green and silver. As I took in how weird everyone looked I started laughing.

I was laughing so hard I was sure that everyone could hear me, my ribs were hurting me from how hard I was laughing to the point where there were tears in my eyes and I had to physically pant for breath.

I wiped a happy tear, "That- that was amazing!" I beamed.

"Wasn't it? Look at me, I have golden hair!" James said, ruffling his hair.

Sirius groaned as he took in his scarlet colored hair, "Why did I have to get the red hair?"

"Thank God you weren't born a ginger." James said, shuddering.

My eyes met with a blue haired Ravenclaw, "Look at her! she has blue hair!" I said, happily.

"I reckon I'd make a nice blond, don't you think?" Remus asked, grinning.

I slipped my arm across his shoulders, "Nah, I prefer your usual brown hair."

James noticed Lily Evans looking annoyed at her skin color and remarked, "Lily's hair is the same." He stared at her intently. "But her skin looks like it's glittering." He said dazed.

Sirius rolled his eyes at James, "Yeah, she looks like the Gryffindor mascot. How attractive."

We all laughed at his comment and I smiled. It was finally starting to look up for us and the idea of a potentially awesome year was starting to not look so impossible. I shut my eyes for a moment, as if taking all the details in and permanently storing it in my memory, so I could never let myself forget happy moments like these.

Remus nudged me slightly, "You alright, Winnie?"

"Yeah." I smiled back. "I'm great."


	10. Chapter 10

This chapter is going to be very serious. If you know what I mean ;)

Chapter 10

"So, this is nice." I muttered, mostly to myself.

We were all sitting at The Three Broomsticks. The boys and I plus Marlene, Mary and Lily who looked like she seriously would prefer gauging her eyes out with a spoon then to be sitting here with us. The air was awkward and no one really knew what to say.

"Shut up, Winnie." Sirius said as he took a sip from his butterbeer.

"Hey don't be mean to her!" Mary said, narrowing her eyes at Sirius. I felt a strange happiness surge through my body, even though I was not insulted by Sirius and even though he wasn't purposely being mean to me it was nice for her to defend me. I would definitely be putting her in my top five favorites list. A smug smirk worked it's way up to my lips and I stuck my tongue out at Sirius.

"Very mature." Sirius said, scrunching up his nose.

Marlene drummed her fingers against the table, "So..how have you all been?"

"I'm very well, thanks. How about you?" Remus said politely.

"I'm fine." Marlene said, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

"James," I whispered to him quietly, thankfully he was next to me so I wouldn't have the others hear anything, "Lets just leave."

James's eyes widened, "What no! we can't!"

"Why not?" I muttered sadly. He ignored me.

Lily turned to Remus and asked, "Remus, have you done the reading on the uses of the Shrivelfig plant?"

"The what?" James asked, bemusedly.

"It's a plant that's found in Abyssinia-" Lily began but was cut off by a bored Marlene.

"Nobody actually cares Lily," Marlene said.

"I care!" James said a little too excitedly.

Marlene "Oh, sorry. Nobody cares except for James." Her gaze met mine. "Winnie, d'you want to go to the bathroom?"

I shook my head, "No, I'm fine."

She got out of her seat and gave me a pointed look, "Are you _sure_?"

I took this as a sign that we needed to talk so I said, "You know what? That sounds like a good idea. Sorry guys, got to go." I stood up quickly and followed Marlene into the bathroom.

She hunched her shoulders as she walked over to the sink, "This is horrible! everyone is acting so awkward." She said, exhaling.

I nodded, "I know, it's never like this when I'm with the guys." I turned to her ,"Y'know I'm surprised Lily came I mean she hates James."

"I made her come but now I regret coming myself." She groaned. "Oh what do we do? We have to fix this!"

"What? Why do we have to do that?" I frowned.

She looked at me like I was an idiot, honestly I was just lazy. "Oh I don't know because it was our idea in the first place!?" she said exasperated.

"But that doesn't mean we have to actually do things!"

"Winnie! we are going to fix this. Somehow!" She said and proceeded to gently push me out of the stall, I could almost see the engines starting to work in her mind.

But what lay before us was a sight that was stranger to me than anything else, they were all getting along. Seriously, they were laughing. Together. I had to physically squeeze my eyes shut and open them again just to make sure that I wasn't going crazy or worse, hallucinating.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Marlene said gaping.

"Did we get drunk by accident or something?" I asked no one in particular.

"We're gone two seconds! two seconds and this happens!" Marlene says, approaching the table.

I scanned the table for my bag but found instead my place taken by none other than Sirius Black who wasn't even fazed by the fact that I was glaring at him, instead he was focusing on something Remus was saying. I narrowed my eyes at him and said in the scariest voice I could muster.

"That's my seat."

He looked at me and gave me a submissive shrug, as if he didn't just steal my seat!

"Get off!" I said slamming my fists against the table, making the drinks jump up a little.

Sirius raised his brow at me and leaned in towards me and said in the most annoying voice ever:

"Nah, I quite like this seat."

"Get out of that seat or I'll make you get out, Padfoot." I growled.

My heart dropped into my stomach. I didn't realize that I actually did growl like a cheetah. My animagus. The boys also realized it because they all turned to me with wide eyes and tight lips, as if telling me silently that I just exposed myself. Of course like any other person I decided to do what I did best. I improvised.

I cleared my throat, trying to pass the growl off as a cough, "Whoa, what was that?" I said laughing.

"You alright there, Winnie? Sounds like you're coming down with a cold or something?" Mary asked.

I nodded and coughed again, "Oh yeah, I think I am. You know what? Keep that seat Sirius. I'm going to step out for a bit." I ran a hand through my hair and quickly walked out of there.

Once I got out of there I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders, it was like I could breathe again. My eyes searched Hogsmeade for a place to sit and I counted my blessings when I found an unused bench two feet away from me. Once there, I closed my eyes and laid down. It was only minutes later when I felt someone sit down on the bench in the empty space.

I must have sat there for some time because after quite a while I felt the bench move slightly as someone sat down on the empty space that my legs couldn't cover.

"You comfortable?" A deep voice said. Sirius.

Ugh. It was like I couldn't escape this guy.

"Very much so," I muttered, keeping my eyes shut.

Even though my eyes were shut I was sure that he was looking at me. Do you know that feeling when you're doing something but you feel like someone is staring at you and then you turn around and see that they are? That's how Sirius is. All the time.

"Don't worry they didn't notice." Sirius said laughing.

My eyes fluttered open and I sat up, "Really?"

He nodded, "Surprisingly yeah, but I think it's 'cause you're naturally weird so everyone just brushed it off."

"Thanks?" I said unsure if he was making fun of me or praising me.

He stood up and stuck his hands into his pockets, "Hey, d'you wanna walk?" He asked, with his puppy dog face. Honestly, he really did look like a sad puppy when he did that, I assumed it had something to do with his floppy hair. I was going to say no and ignore him, but he made it very difficult with his lopsided smile and puppy dog face. I now understood why girls couldn't resist that face.

I swung my legs off the bench and jumped up, "Okay."

We walked in silence, I kicked the rocks on the ground and swayed side-to-side. Sirius kept on glancing at me every thirty seconds or so wondering when I was going to start a conversation but I didn't, I resumed kicking the rocks that were on the path. Until I swung my leg to hit the rock and ended up hitting Sirius's leg causing me to slip and fall, of course.

Sirius's eyes widened as he extended his arm, "Winnie, are you okay?!" he asked, laughing as he helped me up.

I took it gratefully, "Thanks. I don't know how I managed that. How did you not fall?" I was trying to distract him from the fact that I was extremely embarrassed right now.

He shrugged, "Your kick wasn't as strong as you thought, Powers."

"Apparently." I said stuffing my hands into my pockets, in annoyance.

"Are you angry at me?" He said, furrowing his brows.

"I'm always angry at you." I said nonchalantly.

"I know, it's annoying." He said, putting his hands behind his head as he walked.

"Hey! you're the one who annoys me with all the annoying things you do." I said, scowling.

He stopped walking and turned to me with a serious (ignore the pun) look on his face, "Can I tell you the truth?" I nodded, wondering if he was actually going to be honest or not.

"I purposely wind you up." he said, his face breaking into a smile.

"What?" I gaped.

He nodded, "Yeah, it's hilarious. You get this irritated look on your face and you get all fiery and angry, it makes my day."

I shifted my weight from foot to foot, "I want to punch you in the face so badly right now, the only reason I'm holding myself back is because we're in public."

I wanted to punch him for being so damn annoying but at the same time I wanted to laugh. What kind of idiot goes to such drastic measures to irritate me? for a laugh! he really needed to sort out his priorities.

"You're right, we are in public. D'you want to go to Zonkos?" He asked, slipping his arm across my shoulders.

"Yeah, we should go to Zonko's so I can find something there to murder you with." I said, deadpan.

He rolled his eyes, "Why is homicide something that is constantly on your mind, Winnie Powers?"

"Because I'm like every other girl, obviously." I said, sarcastically.

He laughed, "No, that's what I like about you." He said and patted me on the head.

"What you like me? You don't _love_ me?" I said, grinning.

He chuckled, "You would love for me to confess that, wouldn't you?"

"Me and almost every other girl in our school. A couple of boys too, I hear." I smirked.

"It's nice to know that I'm attracting both genders." He said, looking proud.

I prodded him in the ribs, "Don't forget the ghosts. I'm almost certain the ghost of Helena Ravenclaw has a crush on you, she always goes pink when she sees you. You smarmy git."

He scoffed, "What about you? You're also pretty popular with the guys too."

I swung my hair across my shoulder and shot him a flirtatious smile, "What can I say? I do have this charm about me." I said, dramatically and then said. "Also, I have great hair."

He started to laugh, hard. To the point where he was attracting the attention of students and people around us. I felt my face flush as I realized how much of a couple we looked right now, I removed his hand from my shoulder but that didn't do anything to stop his laughter or to stop people from looking at us. Especially the girls.

"Sirius, stop it. You're embarrassing me." I said and proceeded to punch him in the shoulder.

The punch calmed him down and he grabbed his arm and winced, "Why would you do that?" he said loudly.

I inwardly groaned, "Quiet! you're making everyone look at us." I whispered.

He studied my face intently, "Who cares?" he said in his usual carefree tone.

"Um I don't know, because people will assume we're dating?!"

He laughed, "Am I that bad?"

"It's not you, you muppet. It's the fact that it's hard being friends with guys without everyone thinking that there's something romantic going on with at least one of you. D'you know last week a girl cornered me in the bathroom and asked me if we were dating! twice! even though we've all been friends for six years!" I said, huffing from annoyance.

"If I were you I'd tell them yes. Just to see what they'd do." Sirius said, grinning.

"They'd probably eat me." I said honestly.

Sirius laughed but then when he saw my face, his smile dropped. "Oh, you were being serious."

I nodded, "Unfortunately."

Sirius looked like he was trying to stop himself from saying something but he couldn't, "Don't tell James I said this but I think you'd be really good with him. You get on well."

My eyes widened, "What? are you joking? Me and James? No! he's my best friend. No!" I said, shaking my head.

It was a strange idea that I couldn't wrap my head around. James and I? I had never thought of him that way, maybe I did in first year for a bit but that was before I realized he was my best friend and even if I did like him I would never do anything to jeopardize the close friendship we had, he was closer to me than anyone else. I would never risk losing that.

"Well, you're definitely better than Evans." He scoffed.

"I love Lily, I do. But she is not the one for James. Sure she's cute but they're like oil and water. They just don't mix, y'know?" I said with a slight shrug.

"I wish he'd realize that there are hundreds of girls at Hogwarts. He could literally get anyone he wanted. Poor lad." Sirius said, shaking his head.

"Boys." I said rolling my eyes.

"Oh, I had no idea that I was a dolphin. Thanks for clarifying that up for me." Sirius said, smirking.

"You know there are boy dolphins." I said, laughing.

"You know what I mean, Winnie."

I laughed, "We should do this more. Less arguing more actually having fun."

He moved the hair from his eyes, "I'm always fun! I'm the king of fun. If you open a dictionary and search for the word fun you'll see my name there. But you know what, that's a good idea. Maybe I should stop annoying you." He then pretended to think about it, "Nah."

I shot him a half-smile, "Maybe I should stop punching you..No, you know what, I don't think so."

Once we reached Hogwarts and walked in, he suddenly slapped his forehead and then turned to me and shot me an apologetic look, "As much as I would love to hang out with you, I just remembered that I actually had detention with Filch today."

"You just remembered now?" I said amused.

"Yeah, I was supposed to polish or clean something. Sorry, love I must bid you adieu." He said and gave me a little curtsy. "But we will be doing this again, Miss Powers!"

"I'll be looking forward to it, Black." I smirked.

"You better," he winked and then ran off.

I laughed. He was such a idiot. But an idiot that was arguably my friend.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Shout out to EG and Sakurapetals0192 ! Thanks for reviewing. I just want to thank everyone for reading my story so far I know it's not the best story out there so thank you all for sticking around.**_

Chapter 11

 **Hello parents, it is I.**

 **Winnie. Your daughter, in case you forgot about me. I wasn't going to actually send you a letter but then I realized that if I didn't you would assume that I was either dead or dying. But no, I'm alive and well. I think. I could very well be in a coma right now and all this could be just a dream. Anyway! Christmas is in one month so happy early Christmas.**

 **Also my birthday is coming up. Just in case you forgot and needed a reminder so don't forget to send me presents. I don't have anything special that I want so don't bother getting me something extravagant, I honestly would love a pair of warm fuzzy socks.**

 **Anyway! I hope you are both alive and well, send my love to Greg. Or don't.**

 **All my love,**

 **Winnie**

"That's the weirdest letter I have ever read in my life." A voice said behind me making me jump and drop my quill.

I turn my head to see James lazily leaning on the desk next to me, "Ever heard of privacy, Potter?" I said, swiftly grabbing my quill in one swift motion like the pro I was.

He scrunched up his nose and pretended to ponder what I had just said,"You know what? I don't think I have." He said, with a playful smile.

"Ah, that explains it." I said, resting my hand on my chin.

"Anyway, I was looking for you in Hogsmeade - had no idea you left. Why didn't you tell me?" he said, frowning slightly.

I gave him an apologetic smile, "Sorry, I was hanging out with Sirius."

He gave me a surprised look, "And he's still alive?"

I laughed, "Yeah, enough about me though. What about you! How did that date thing go?" I said, turning my body to him and giving him my full attention.

"Well," he said scratching the back of his head, "It didn't go badly but it didn't go very well, either. She kept talking to Remus. I kept talking to Marlene, Mary and Peter but she didn't seem like she hated my existence or seemed annoyed by me - so, I think that's good. Right?" He asked, uncertainly tilting his head to the side.

I bit my lip and thought about it, I was kind of annoyed at Lily for ignoring James even though James has definitely calmed down a bit and he was being a lot less James like than he was before. But she still didn't give him a chance! But, maybe it would take some time for her to grow used to the fact that James was and is not a 'arrogant toe rag' as she liked to put it.

"Um, It's good but it's not great. But don't worry about it. Baby steps, Potter. At least she doesn't resent your presence." I said, shrugging slightly. I knew that my words were of no comfort if I didn't lie to him and tell him that this was the way to get Lily Evans.

He nodded sadly but then he looked up as if he had just remembered something, "Oh hey, I was jus going to go to the Owlery. Got a letter to drop of to my mum, want to come with me?" James asked, with a small smile.

"Sure, lets go." I said and jumped up. "How is your mum anyway?"

He shrugged, "She's really good, she asked about you - again. Don't be surprised if you get a christmas present from her she really loves you." He said, amusedly.

I smiled happily, "I love her too! she's the sweetest lady ever. Probably love her more than my actual mum..just don't tell my mum that." I laughed.

"Duly noted. Are you going home for Christmas?" He said as we walked to the owlery. The owlery was quite empty once we reached, only one or two other students were there besides us. Christmas was in one month exactly and it was something I was definitely looking forward to. Presents, not having to wake up early and the fact that I would do nothing all day? Sign me up!

I nodded eagerly, "Yeah, I am. I'm just looking forward to sleeping all day."

"You should stop by then," He then paused, "You know, we should all meet up at my house. It'll be fun."

"I would but I have to sleep." I said and then called my owl and gave her my letter.

He rolled his eyes, "Come on, Winnie."

I sighed and gave in, I knew I eventually would anyway. "Okay, okay. Why not?"

A light bulb turned on in his head and he snapped his fingers and turned to me with an excited grin, "Hey, isn't your birthday coming up soon?"

"No." I shook my head. "It's not."

It was. My birthday was coming up very soon but I didn't want him to remember because I knew exactly what was going to happen. Something crazy that's for sure, the boys had a reputation for their pranks but what they should actually have a reputation for? Turning things into disasters. The last five years my birthday's have been absolutely crazy - hilarious of course but insane. Last year, the boys threw me a party and we all ended up in the quidditch pitch with no memory of what had happened, half-naked. We all laughed about it for ages afterwards but even after one year none of us can remember what happened that night. Also, it didn't only get crazy on my birthday - it was like that for all of us. The marauders simply did not know how to throw a generic birthday.

So the idea of celebrating my birthday was not on my to-do list. Honestly, I would be fine with just getting some cake and taking a twelve hour nap but I knew that idea was almost as unlikely as a unicorn cross-breeding with a dragon.

I could almost see the wheels turning in James's head, "Yes it is, Winnie Powers! You know what, this year we'll make it special. So special that you'll never see it coming. This year will be the best birthday ever, for you."

I didn't know whether to laugh because of the fact that he was referring to the promise I had made to myself or if I was supposed to be scared of what he was planning. It was definitely a mix of both.

* * *

The door slammed open, startling me and making me grab my wand from under my pillow and pointing it at the door. Marlene walked in and rolled her eyes when she saw my wand being pointed at her. She laughed and proceeded to sit on the edge of my bed. During the past weeks, the girls and I had become a lot closer but I was surprisingly getting closer to Marlene than Lily or Mary. She reminded me of the boys in a more feminine, girly way and I liked that.

"You're not even holding the wand right, silly. It's the other way around." She said, laughing.

I put my wand away, sheepishly. "Whatever, at least I would be able to defend myself if a burglar decided to come up here and steal our things."

She gave me a confused look, "Why would a burgular- you know what, that doesn't matter" she laughed, "I need to talk to you about two things! First, why didn't you tell me your birthday was next week! The second thing is I heard a couple of girls say they saw you and Sirius looking quite relationship-y. What do you have to say for yourself?" She said, amused.

I ran my hand through my hair, "What do I have to say?! You'll never take me alive, never!" I said standing up.

She laughed and grabbed my arm, pulling me back down onto the bed, "You're such a goofball. But seriously, we should all do something for your birthday! Also, tell me about the Sirius thing!" she said excitedly.

"No to the birthday thing." I said, pointing my finger at her."Nothing happened between Sirius and I, it just looked like there was something."

Her forehead wrinkled in confusion, "Oh, so nothing happened but it looked like it did? That makes perfect sense." she said sarcastically.

I laughed, "Yeah, the girls were probably exaggerating about that. Nothing to worry about here."

She scratched the back of her neck, "Can I ask you something? You don't have to answer but me and a lot of girls are curious.." She bit her lip. "Are you dating Sirius?"

There it was. The question that I had been expecting since the beginning, I sighed, "No. Absolutely not. I'm just friends with him. I'm not dating James or Sirius or Remus or Peter. In fact, I'm not dating anyone at all. You know who I should be dating? Myself, I am great." I said, rambling madly.

"I hope you didn't take that the wrong way or anything, because that was not my intention. Believe me." She said, looking apologetic.

"Yeah, okay. Whatever." I said, smiling awkwardly.

She frowned, "Are you angry at me?"

I was. I hated the fact that I had to reassure everyone constantly that I was not dating any of the boys. Merlin, sometimes it felt like boys and girls couldn't possibly be friends without there being romantic involvement between them. It was annoying and the exact reason I didn't like to have any friends other than the boys.

I shrugged, "No, I'm fine." I said coolly, looking at anything but her.

She didn't look convinced, "You sure? You don't look fine." She tugged at my wrist, making me look at her. "I'm really sorry, I know you don't like when people assume you're dating one of them. I guess, I kind of wanted to set the record straight."

I twirled a strand of my hair, "Surprisingly, I understand. Let's just forget about it." I said honestly.

"I'm sorry," She said, looking earnest and enveloped me into a hug. I gladly appreciated and returned the gesture, a small smile working it's way up on to my face.

"Don't worry about it." I smiled, "Hey- quick question. How did you know about my birthday? I only told James-" I couldn't finish the sentence because I realized that James the idiot probably told everyone.

"Oh! James told me, he told everyone. He's planning to-" She clamped her hand on her mouth "Oh, I can't ruin the surprise. Never mind." She laughed.

I groaned, "Nooooo! tell me! What is he planning!?" I said, exasperatedly.

She laughed, "Sorry but no I can't! I promised. But you're gonna like it, I think."

"Thanks for being so reassuring, Marlene." I said, sarcastically and then I jumped up from the bed and grabbed her arm. "I'm going to go find out." I then proceeded to pull her into the common room where James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were sitting along with everyone else. Marlene took a seat next to Peter as I approached James.

I narrowed my eyes at him, "What are you planning, Prongs?" I said, sitting down next to him.

His eyes widened and turned to look at Marlene, "You told her?!" he said, irritatedly.

She winced, "Sorry- it slipped out. But I didn't tell her about what you're planning." She said sheepishly.

"You had _one_ job, Marlene." He said, laughing slightly. "It's fine, honestly. She would've found out one way or another."

"Listen up, Potter. If you throw a party I'm going to cry. No parties. You know what happened last year!" I said, hitting him with a pillow.

He caught the pillow and threw it across the room, "That was a one time thing! I still don't know what happened though." he muttered.

Sirius laughed, "Andrew McKerbicks told me that he saw us at Hogsmeade the same day of the party. Isn't that weird? Why would we ever go there? Does anybody remember this?"

Remus ran a hand through his hair, "I don't remember a thing." He said, half-joking and half-honest.

Marlene furrowed her brows, "Wait, you mean to say that you actually lost a day's memory?"

James ran a hand through his hair, "Exactly. Last thing we all remember is going to the party and then we all wake up in the quidditch pitch with no memory of what happened," he leaned in closer to Marlene, " _half-naked_."

Marlene turned to me, "What-"

"Don't ask." I laughed. "It's actually one of the least crazy things that have happened to us. There are definitely worse."

Peter nodded, "You should hear about the Tuesday incident."

James threw his head back in laughter, "The Tuesday incident! Love that story. But I can never speak of it." He said, melodramatically.

"Anyway" Sirius said, taking the attention of James and his loud laughter "We all just assumed that we had too much too drink." Sirius said lazily.

"How did you assume that?" Marlene asked, she reminded me of a reporter.

Remus laughed, "Probably the fact that we were all undeniably hung over the next day."

Marlene looked between us, "Aren't you all curious to know what happened?"

James shrugged, "We did but then we decided not to investigate because what happened could be something stupid and we don't want to ruin the cool story."

Marlene rolled her eyes, "Yeah, but isn't it strange? I mean you all remember the same thing. What if it's a clue or something? You should definitely check it out. If nothing 'cool' happens, we can just forget it. No one has to know."

Remus put his index finger to his lips, "You know, she's right. It's not normal..we could at least attempt to figure out what happened." He said.

Sirius raised a brow at him, "How do you propose we do that? It's been a year and we don't even know where to start."

I cleared my throat, making them all turn to look at me. "We have to start from the beginning. Before the party started, James you were the one who planned everything. Who else was involved? We need to talk to that person." I asked, turning to him.

James ran a hand through his hair, nervously. After a pregnant moment he said the name of a person I did not want to ever see, meet or speak to ever again. The person who I would gladly throw off a cliff if I could, the person who I would glare at from a distance. The worst person in the world.

"Kenneth." he mumbled.

Oh hell no.


	12. Chapter 12

**I don't own Harry Potter only my OC. Prepare yourselves this is going to be a bit of a long chapter. Also thank you to all the people who favorited, reviewed and followed!**

Chapter 12

"No." I said promptly and turned my body away and turned to glare at the fireplace.

"Why not?" Marlene asked confused.

"Let's just say I'd rather stab myself in the knee three thousand times than interact with him again." I said continuing to glare at the crackling fire.

Kenneth Williams was my ex-boyfriend. He was the smartest Ravenclaw and annoyingly- the most handsome one too. He was like the Sirius Black of Ravenclaw, except he was awful, conceited and down right horrible. But in a sneaky way, which made him even more terrible.

He was tall, broad-shouldered with dirty blond hair and baby-blue eyes. At first, it was like a fairy-tale. He was charming, gorgeous and intelligent. He had it all, or so it seemed. It was after six months of dating that I realized he didn't date me because he liked me. He liked who I was friends with, he liked my so-called 'popularity'. He liked the attention and he didn't care about me at all. Obviously, I had no idea and was deeply and stupidly in love with him.

The boys didn't like him at all. Which I hated, of course. I couldn't understand why they didn't like Kenneth, he was perfect- to me, of course. But ultimately, they could see what I couldn't. Literally. One day James found me and told me that he saw Kenneth holding hands with another girl - a ravenclaw. I was crushed. He didn't only break my heart, he broke me. I wanted to break his face but 'surprisingly' I found that the next day he had a black eye and was bruised badly to the point where he had to stay at the infirmary for a week. They never admitted it but I knew that they were the one's responsible for that. After that day, Kenneth would always run the other direction if he saw any of the boys.

"I'll talk to him, then." Remus offered.

Sirius made a disgusted face, "I hate that bloke. He thinks he's so great. Winnie you were way out of his league, he pretty much down-graded after you."

A small smile worked it's way up to my face, "You think?"

Sirius scoffed, "Are you kidding me? Of course, love. Have you seen who he was with? Amy Joliber? She's awful. You were probably the best thing that ever happened to him."

Peter nodded, "Amy Joliber is scary."

"Thanks guys." I said, happily.

I knew it was bad to wish sadness on people but I wished Kenneth every sadness possible. Like his cat dying or him becoming bald faster. Yeah, I held a grudge. I did, however greatly appreciate the fact that Sirius cheered me up even if it was a bit flirtatiously. I liked that we had been getting on well, recently. I liked things drama-free.

"Okay, Moony and Wormtail you speak to Kenneth. I guess I'll go with Marlene and we can go to Hogsmeade and ask the shop owners if they've remember seeing any of us." James said and then turned to Sirius and I. "You too, go ask people what they remember from the party."

I raised my brow at him, "You want me to ask people about a party that happened a year ago despite the fact that none of us can remember who was at the party?" I asked incredulously.

He nodded, "So you get it! Great. See you later, alligator." He chuckled, "Isn't that funny? Pete taught me that one."

Sirius shook his head, "That's the opposite of funny."

"I guess it's Sirius then." I said, pun fully intended.

They all turned to me and laughed, except for Sirius who gave me an annoyed but amused look.

"That's a good one. I'll remember that." James said, laughing and then left the room with Marlene, Peter and Remus following him. It kind of looked like chicks following their mother.

Sirius turned to me and flicked my forehead, "I'll never forgive you for that one."

I rubbed my forehead, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's just do what James says - the faster we do this the faster I can get back and take a nap." I said boredly as we all walked out of the common room.

"Hey, d'you reckon one of us did a memory charm so that we could all forget what happened that day?" Sirius said as we turned a corner, we had asked a bunch of people about the party and most of them had said the same thing, 'I don't remember' or 'I don't know'. Or, they were too busy flirting/staring at Sirius to actually pay attention to what we were asking. it was extremely infuriating and tiring.

My eyes widened, "That would make sense! Sirius you're a genius! Wait, who's the best at charms from all of us?"

Sirius snapped his fingers, "Me! I'm the best at charms. I probably did it."

I was going to retort but I stopped when I saw a girl from our grade, Dorcas Meadowes. "Dorcas!" I yelled, making her turn to me and give me a confused smile. She approached us with a confused look.

"Hey there, Dorcas. Mind if we ask you a quick question?" Sirius said, giving her one of his charming smiles making her blush slightly.

She nodded, "Sure. What's up?" She said, looking at Sirius happily.

I rolled my eyes and cleared my throat, making her look at me. "Well, I don't know if you were there but last year do you remember what we were doing on my birthday?"

She bit her lip and looked down as if she was remembering something, "I do remember you guys were sad that Moony couldn't make it to the party. He was like sick or something. Also I remember Kelly Evyyon getting madly drunk at that party and shaving her head off it was hilarious!" She said laughing.

I laughed awkwardly, "Yeah, that's great." Now I knew why Kelly Evans randomly had short hair in the middle of the year. "Did you see anything else?"

She was too busy focusing on Sirius to hear what I just said so I just took that as a no.

Sirius nodded, "Thanks a lot Dorcas, you've been a great help. See you around." He said and gave Dorcas a wink before he pulled me away from her.

"Whoa, easy on me. I'm fragile." I said as we turned into an empty hallway.

He quickly let go of my arm and shot me an apologetic look, "Sorry Dot - anyway, weren't you listening to what Dorcas said? Moony was sick, d'you know what that means? It was the 'time of the month'." He whispered the last part, even though it was a empty hallway.

"Don't call me Dot." I nodded, "But you're probably right. So let's try to pierce this story together. First of all we know that we left the party and went to Hogsmeade and we know that we were sad that Moony couldn't make it. So, do you reckon we went to Hogsmeade and went to the Shrieking Shack to keep him company or something?"

His eyebrows shot up and he grinned a bit crazily, "Winnie - you're a genius! That must be it! Wow you are absolutely brilliant! We are so much closer to solving this mystery!" he said, rubbing his hands madly. He looked like a detective who had just found out about a clue that could lead him to solving a murder.

I laughed, "Calm down there Sherlock Holmes. But also thank you, I try." I said, beaming.

He gave me a puzzled look, "Who?"

I shook my head, "Never mind, anyway we need to ask more people! Let's go we have no time to lose, Black!" I said, pulling him from the hallway and into the great hall where dinner was about to be served.

* * *

What I was not expecting was to see the devil himself sitting with my friends and having a conversation with Marlene. Stupid Kenneth Williams. What bothered me the most was how dashing he looked today. But I still hated him and wished him nothing but agony. Sirius noticed how annoyed I looked but before he could question what was wrong with me he saw him too and groaned.

"What does this annoying git want now?" He said, glaring at him.

I narrowed my eyes at them, "Why are they fraternizing with the enemy?" I said, crossing my arms.

"Do we have to go over there?" He said, scowling.

I shook my head, "Absolutely not. Let's just leave before they see us." I said turning around, Sirius did not argue and did the same. But unluckily for us, Peter noticed us and called Sirius and I over. Peter Pettigrew, the boy who hardly speaks decides to do that. He was the person I literally counted on to never actively participate in anything and what does he do? He calls us over! Before we could escape everyone - including Lucifer himself turns to look at us. James sees us and anxiously waves us over, making Sirius and I reluctantly walk over to them.

"I hate my life." I mutter to Sirius, not even pretending to be happy. I was full on scowling at Kenneth.

"You and me both, darling." He said and forced a tight-lipped smile at Kenneth as we sat down next to each other.

I could literally feel Kenneth's gaze on me and it took everything in me not to throw a fork at him, "So James. Any new, shocking discoveries you would like to share with us?" I said, looking at James and purposely ignoring Kenneth who was sitting right next to him.

He obviously could feel the tension in the room and his eyes darted between us, "Eh- yeah actually. Kenneth just told us that had been fussing over Moony that day because he was sick and couldn't make it. Then apparently you two got into a fight about it and then we all went to Hogsmeade and disappeared for a few hours and he didn't see us until the next day. I asked the shop owners if they saw us but they didn't. What about you two?"

Sirius nodded, "We also got the same information, but" he nudged me "This brilliant girl figured out something important."

He looked impressed, "That's great, Winnie. What is it?"

I turned to look at Kenneth who caught my eyes immediately, "I'll tell you later when he's not around." I said, sharply.

He clucked his tongue, "Nice to know you haven't changed, Winnie." he said giving me a tasteless smile.

I narrowed my eyes at him, "What's that supposed to mean, Williams?" I said, sneering at him.

James also jumped in my defense, "Yeah, whats that supposed to mean Kenwick?" he said, glaring at him.

Kenneth rolled his eyes, "You know exactly what I mean."

Sirius leaned forward, "No, I don't think I do mate." he said dangerously low. It was kind of awesome.

Kenneth turned to look at me, "Are you going to tell your boyfriends to lay off?"

I laughed, "Yeah, you're right. Boyfriends lay off him. I can take care of myself, have you seen my bat-bogey hex? You know what, do you want me to show you?" I said in a eerie tone, drumming my fingers at the table.

He laughed scornfully, "Winnie, don't start things you can't finish."

"Try me, Kenneth. _Try me_." I said, lowly.

We were full on glaring at each other. There was a fire building inside me that could only disappear by punching Kenneth's smug face right in the jaw. Before I could get another word out of him, he laughed. He literally laughed as if this was amusing to him. I furrowed my brows at him, why the hell was he acting so weird?

"I'm leaving." He said and got up and left.

I slammed my fists on the table, "Damn you - damn you to hell!" I said in a loud tone, making everyone turn to look at me. Kenneth blatantly ignored me and left the great hall. I wanted to punch him, that smug bastar-

"That was kind of - I don't know - incredibly badass!" James said, interrupting my angry train of thought and also greatly surprising me.

"What?" I asked quizzically.

"I don't know why that was attractive." Sirius mumbled, shaking his head.

" _What_?!"

"Godric, I knew he was smug but I didn't know he was that bad. Why are the cute ones always so terrible?" Marlene said, resting her face on her palm.

I laughed and looked at Remus and Peter who were still in shock at what happened, "Hey- weren't you two supposed to talk to him? Alone?!" I questioned them.

"We were looking for him! I guess he went to Hogsmeade too because when he came back we saw him talking to James." Peter said, uneasily.

"You know what's so annoying? Is that none of you guys have a journal or something that can help us. Maybe you did just get that drunk. Anyway, I'm gonna go sit with Mary and Lily see you guys later." Marlene said and waved at us before going over and sitting with Lily and Mary.

They all turned to me, "Except one of us does have a journal. You." James said, pointing out the obvious.

I chewed on my lip, "D'you guys think that maybe I wrote about this in my journal? I haven't used it in a long time."

"There's only one way to find out." Remus said.

* * *

"It's in here somewhere, I know it!" I said as I looked through everything I owned. I was basically trashing my room.

"Hey how come the girls have a better view than us?" James said, looking outside the window and frowning slightly. "They get to see everything. Lucky girls."

"Let's just focus on finding the journal." Remus said as he searched through my bag.

My breath hitched in my throat as I found my journal at the bottom of my trunk, "You guys. I found it."

We all sat down on my bed and I flipped through the pages until I found the last entry - December 10. My birthday. I could feel my heart beat as I scanned the page, it was messy as if I had written it at the last minute but it was a full page entry.

"Read it out loud, please." Peter said.

I cleared my throat, "Dear me or to whoever is reading this. I found my journal and I have to tell you/me something. Today something crazy happened and not just regular crazy, it was literally the craziest thing I have ever experienced. What I'm about to tell you is top secret and you can't let anyone know this. If you ever find this, you must hide it from everyone. Even James." I said looking up and meeting James's eyes, he furrowed his brows and looked at me.

I continued, "Sirius and James are now talking about making us forget but I don't want to forget. But, that doesn't make sense. I'm sorry if I don't make sense, let's just start at the beginning. It was the beginning of the day and James decided to throw me a party but unfortunately it was the same day Moony had to 'wolf out' so we were at the party and I was complaining to Kenneth about how I wished Moony was here so we could have a good time and then we ended up having this huge fight about how I only care about the guys and not about him. Some stupid stuff like that. So I punched him."

"Atta girl." Sirius said, chuckling.

I laughed, "So then we decided to skip the party and go to the shrieking shack through Hogsmeade and keep Remus company, like the amazing friends we are. So we go to the Shrieking Shack but we don't find him there - instead we find him attacking someone." I said, my eyes widening.

"W-what?" Remus said, wide eyed. "N-no, no. What?"

"Calm down, Moony. I'm sure that's not the case." Sirius said, calming him down. Remus swallowed his words so I could finish the journal entry.

"Luckily, it was only a few bruises and scratches and she was fine. But we wiped her memory so she wouldn't remember what happened. I had to - in animagus form obviously fight with Moony and it was intense. It was like he wasn't himself, I felt so bad for him. I wish I could help. Now, we're at Hogwarts - at the quidditch pitch actually and Remus is back to normal but he cried - he regrets it so much even though it wasn't his fault and he's falling into his depression again. Like I said Sirius and James are planning on performing the memory charm I can't write anymore." I said and lowered my journal.

"I hurt someone?" Remus asked, rhetorically.

"Remus.." I said quietly and gave him a sympathetic look.

"I always thought that I was stronger than that- I thought I could never hurt someone..I was wrong." Remus muttered, mostly to himself.

"Moony, mate. It wasn't you. That isn't you, mate. Believe me. You would never do that." Sirius said, urging him to listen. But it was like Remus had put up a bubble, disconnecting himself from reality.

"Yeah, he's right." Peter said, quietly.

"But I did. ." Remus said putting his hands on his face. "I can't even remember it and I hate myself for it."

"Stop, Remus. You can't do this to yourself. First of all, Winnie said the person was fine. Second of all, you should be hating yourself if you actually intended to hurt someone. Did you intend to hurt someone? Have you ever intended to hurt someone?" James said, putting his hand on his shoulder and forcing him to look at James.

"No." he paused, "But he did. He does." Remus said referring to the werewolf part of him.

"Remus, I need you to listen to me. Whatever the werewolf tries to do you should know that that isn't you, you're a kind person. You have a heart of gold! You may have hurt someone but that was a one time thing, that's never going to happen again. Not on my watch I gave you that potion for a reason and if you can't stop yourself - we will. We did on my birthday and we will stop you any day. We're with you, no matter what." I said loudly, hoping that my words were reassuring in some way.

I wasn't usually the one who was emotionally comforting or supportive, I didn't know how to deal with emotions at all. But sometimes, you just got to do what you have to do as a friend.

"You're going to get through this mate." James said, comfortingly.

"Thank you. I appreciate that." Remus said and I could tell that he was being genuine.

"So if you were expecting us to ever let you go then think again mate- you're stuck with us for life." Sirius said and clapped him on the back.

Remus laughed and the tense air cleared, like the sun appearing after a rainy day. Thats what I loved about our group, we always had each other's backs and we prevailed no matter what the situation was. That was a good thing, because dark times were coming and we had what we were going to need in the future. Each other.

Sirius nudged me, disturbing my train of thought. "Some birthday you had, huh?"

I laughed, "Tell me about it."

James pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, "So nobody tell Marlene about this. Agreed?"

"Agreed." We all said simultaneously.


	13. Chapter 13

I don't own Harry Potter only my Oc Winnie! Also thanks for everyone who reviewed.

Chapter 13

It had been a week since we found out about the night of my birthday and even though Remus acted like he was okay I was certain he was not. Finding out that you assaulted someone with no recollection of it actually happening was slightly terrifying. On the other hand, I knew he was trying to get over what happened and I didn't want to bring it up and ruin everything. So I was definitely in a pickle.

"Do you think I should talk to Remus?" I asked James who was currently trying to charm a flower to sing.

We were currently in charms and Professor Narwegle had decided to take us outside so he could show us how to charm flowers to sing a cheerful melody but because James and I were lazy and tired we decided to sit near a tree and try to charm any flowers we saw there.

"What?" He asked dismissively, flicking his wand and pointing it at the flower.

"I said, do you think I should talk to Remus?" I repeated, staring at his flower that would not sing.

He sighed frustratedly at the flower and put down his wand and turned to me, "Talk to him about what?" James asked, absentmindedly.

James was acting strange today ever since he had woken up he had been in a world of his own, he even skipped breakfast which was something he never did. He loved food, so whatever was preoccupying his mind was slightly worrying me.

I gave him a blatant look, "About the thing that happened last year!" I studied his face intently, "Whats with you? You're so distracted, today."

He ran a hand through his hair and shrugged, "I don't know -I just woke up and I realized that I could die some day - I could die today! I don't want to die not accomplishing something, y'know? I haven't done anything, I haven't seen anything. My life isn't special or memorable I haven't even fallen in love for Merlin's sake! What if I never do? What if I die alone? Do my parents even love me? Does anyone?" He rambled.

I raised my eyebrow at his mini-speech and laughed, "Ah, I know what you're going through. It's called an existential crisis. Basically its that moment where you question if your life has any purpose at all and let me tell you one thing James Potter - you do have a purpose." I said and squeezed his hand before letting go.

He leaned his head against the tree and faced me, "No I don't. How have I contributed to anything? I could die and it wouldn't even matter." he muttered, emotionlessly.

Was he kidding? I couldn't believe he had just said that. Usually I was not one for emotional talks but these days I couldn't help it and something inside me couldn't resist so I said:

"You idiot. That's the stupidest thing I have ever heard. Of course it would matter- you matter! You don't have to win the quidditch cup or invent a new spell so you can have some value in life. You already have value - James, you're one of the greatest people I know. You have affected people's lives in so many ways - just by being you. Just because you haven't done anything doesn't mean you're never going to. For now, you just have to be the good person you are because soon you are going to doing some incredible things, James Potter."

My words must have struck a cord with him because his eyes got a little glassy and he gulped, "Do you really think so, Winnie?"

Yeah, James Potter was a softie like that.

"No. I think you're going to fail in life and I just gave you that lecture to prove how pathetic you are." I said in the most sarcastic tone I could muster.

He wrapped his arms around me and I couldn't help but hug him back, "Thanks a lot, Winnie." he muttered into my hair and it was such a sappy moment I wanted to punch him. I didn't though.

I laughed awkwardly when he let go, "Okay. Bye," I said and stood up to leave.

He grabbed my arm and gave me a confused stare, "Where are you going you muppet?"

I shook my head, "Eh- I don't know how to deal with emotions so I'm leaving." I said calmly.

He laughed, "I have noticed that, sit back down. We don't have to talk about it."

I tipped my head to the side but complied nonetheless, "What do you mean you noticed?" I asked and hugged my knees to my chest.

He gave me an obvious stare, "Well- every time you get emotional you kind of freak out. Like you don't know how to deal with any emotion that isn't sarcasm or anger. The boys noticed it too."

I clenched my jaw, "You guys talk about me when I'm not there?"

He shrugged, "Not in a bad way, of course. But yes. But you're focusing on the wrong thing here - you need to learn how to not..freak out, I guess. You weren't like this before so I reckon it has to do with Kenneth."

I drew in a breath. He was absolutely right. It had everything to do with Kenneth. I didn't realize how observant James was but now that I knew he knew I felt vulnerable in a way. All because of stupid Kenneth Williams, after I realized he cheated on me it became harder for me to express my emotions. I felt so betrayed by Kenneth to the point that I didn't allow myself to show my feelings to anyone. Even my best friends. I hated that. I hated how he ruined me.

I locked eyes with James, "You're right. I - he kind of - I don't know." I said, sighing and leaned my head against his shoulder. "He broke me."

"Broken things can be fixed, Winnie. Just stop running away from your feelings and face them." he said softly, like he was talking to a child. It was annoying yet comforting in a way.

I sighed, "James, I hate that you're always right - why are you always right?!" I murmured.

He laughed, "It's because I know you too well. Six years is enough time to get to know someone don't you think?"

James Potter. He was going to drive me insane. It bothered me so much how everyone would label him as a 'popular, arrogant guy' and wouldn't try to actually get to know him. He wasn't arrogant, he just pretended to be. James was like the sun - brightening up the lives of everyone around him with his warmth. I wished everyone could see what an amazing person he truly was.

"You're like the sun." I said to him.

He tore a flower from the patch of grass next to him and asked in a pretentious tone, "Hot and blinding?"

I laughed, "Yeah, exactly."

"I think you should talk to Remus."

Before I could reply Professor Narwegle locked gazes with us and her face began to turn red, "What are you two doing? Get back to work! This is not a break or a lounging area, Mr. Potter and Ms. Powers!" She screeched.

I found Remus in the library with Frank Longbottom and some guy I didn't know. books cracked open and each of them writing hurriedly. I assumed it was homework but it could very well be extra work or their idea of fun. I didn't judge. To each their own, am I right? I decided to postpone the Remus talk to until we were alone but now that I was here why not hang out with them?

"Hey guys! How's it going?" I said and leaned against a book case.

Frank Longbottom was the first to turn around and greet me, "Winnie Powers! I haven't seen you in a while." He got up and we exchanged a quick hug.

I beamed, "Yeah, I've been around. How's Alice?" I said, winking.

He turned beetroot red, "So, you heard about that?" he said, running a hand through his hair.

I scoffed, "Heard about that? Are you kidding? I was practically jumping up and down! I told you two were cute together."

Remus looked up, "She actually isn't kidding about the jumping up and down part." He said, smiling. "Hey Winnie."

Frank laughed, "Thanks I think but I don't want to rush things you know? I really like her."

I gave a small wave to Remus, "Hi Remus, anyway. Frank, you have nothing to worry about! I'm positive that she's the one for you. Just do what feels right." I clapped him on the shoulder, "And that concludes Winnie's segment of relationship advice!" I said and sat down on the desk.

Frank grinned, "Thanks Winnie, I'll keep that in mind." His eyes trailed to the unknown guy, "Oh - I'm sorry, this is Edgar Bones. Edgar this is Winnie Powers."

This Edgar Bones guy looked up and gave me an awkward smile, "It's nice to meet you."

Edgar Bones was surprisingly cute, he was a Hufflepuff from what I could tell from his robes and he had this boyish charm that was quite adorable. He was lanky, had thick framed glasses and vibrant green eyes. He reminded me of the characters you would read about in books or something.

I smiled back, "Yeah likewise, Edgar."

Remus eyes darted between Edgar and I and cleared his throat, "Anyway, what are you doing here?"

I shrugged, "No reason. Just wanted to hang out with you cool and interesting people. Is that a problem, Moony?" I asked innocently.

He didn't look convinced but he didn't say it out loud, "No, it's not. You're welcome to hang out with us cool and interesting people for as long as you like." He said with a small smile.

"Yeah, you should know that already Winnie." Frank said kindly, making me smile.

I swung my legs over and got up, grabbing the nearest chair and sitting next to Remus who was opposite of Edgar and Frank.

"Thanks guys, what are you doing anyway?" I asked, putting my hair into a loose bun.

Remus passed me the papers, "We're supposed to do an essay about the aguamenti charm,"

My eyes glazed over the half-written paper and I realized this was the perfect time to impress Edgar with my useless knowledge of things, "Did you write about the etymology? Agua in Spanish and Portugese means water and mente means mind in Latin, so it's basically like using your mind to conjure water." I said and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

"No, I didn't. I'm gonna steal that from you now." Remus said and chuckled good-heartedly.

I glanced at Edgar who didn't seem to care about what I had said at all, frankly he looked bored. He grabbed a book from his right and flipped through the pages without giving me a glance. My shoulders slumped and I frowned as I watched Frank engage him in conversation. Why didn't he seem to care? Did I sound too arrogant? Was I sounding too boring? Was something on my face?

"You okay?" Remus whispered to me.

I nodded, "Yeah - yeah, I'm fine." why was I lying to him? "No, you know what. I'm not. Why isn't he interested in me? I am very cool and great." I said annoyed.

"Why isn't who interested in you?" Remus said and noticed where my gaze was at, "Edgar?!" he whispered, confusion evident on his face. His face contorted into a twisted smile and he began to snicker quietly.

I hit his arm to stop his from laughing, "What what is it? Is it because I'm tan? Gee, sorry for having Spanish roots."

He laughed, "Edgar is gay. That's why he's not interested."

"What? I asked dumbfounded, "I'm so stupid!" I said, slapping my hand across my forehead. I felt my face heat up and the bubbling of laughter escaping my mouth. "That's so embarrassing."

He laughed, "It happens to the best of us."

I studied his face and realised now would be the perfect time to ask, "Remus are you okay?" I put my hand on his shoulder.

He exhaled, "I'm - I'm working on it, Winnie. I'm not as good as I could be. But I will be." he said giving me a half-smile.

I nodded, "I get it. I just want you to know that I'm here for you, okay? I know you probably feel like I'm baby-ing you - which I'm not by the way. I just care about you and I just want you to know that. Even if I have to repeat it several hundred times, as long as you know that." I said laughing slightly.

He gave me an appreciative look, "Thanks Winnie and I do know that, I honestly do. But I have to get through this on my own."

"You got it. I understand completely." I said giving him a supportive smile.

"Oi, what are you two chatting about over there?" Frank asked with a lopsided grin.

I shrugged, "Oh nothing we're just contemplating what colour palette to choose for you and Alice's wedding. Light colours or dark? You know what I'll just ask her instead."

He blushed once more, "Quit it, Winnie. That's so embarrassing." he said making everyone laugh.

"Hey, can I be your best man?" I asked, leaning back on my chair.

His eyebrows scrunched together, "You're not a man though?" he asked, mostly to himself.

I scoffed, "Who cares! I could be a great best man! I can get a tux and everything. Besides I want to give a speech. Bridesmaids don't usually get to tell speeches. C'mon, Frank. Say yes."

He seemed to think it over, "Yeah, you know what? Why not. You can be my best man." He said laughing.

I fist-pumped, "Oh yeah! I better get started on my speech. See you guys!" I said getting up, tucking my chair into the table.

Frank's eyes widened in realisation and he yelled while I was walking away, "Wait, have you been planning this?"

"I think you know the answer to that question, Longbottom!" I said loudly.


	14. Chapter 14

_**I hope you enjoy this chapter and expect fluff in this one! Also big thanks to all those who favorited, reviewed and followed. It means so much to me. Also, I am SERIOUSLY considering turning this story into a Sirius x Winnie story. What do you guys think?**_

Chapter 14

I rubbed my eyes tiredly and annoyedly grabbed my red toothbrush, I hadn't gotten any sleep last night which meant that I was not going to have a good day. I brushed my teeth and tried to list three things I was grateful for, so I could start this day on a semi-positive note. I usually did not do this but Lily told me that this was a great way to be a more 'positive' and 'humble' person.

I racked my brain trying to find things I was grateful for but I was terrible at guessing at the top of my head. Eh- I was grateful for this toothbrush for brushing my teeth, I was grateful for my friends I was grateful for-

SWOOSH!

"What in Godrics name-" I said spitting out the toothpaste and wiping my mouth.

The door slammed open and five people stood there with bright, happy faces, holding a cake and then all at once they said, "Happy birthday Winnie!" and someone flicked their wand making sparks fly around the bathroom that spelled out 'happy birthday to you'. My jaw fell open and I gaped a few times before I could finally speak.

"Oh my Gosh- you guys!" I said, jumping up and down excitedly. "You got me a cake!" I said scanning the vanilla cake that was now floating in the air for some bizarre reason. "With my name on it!"

"Really? I hadn't noticed," James said, laughing before hugging me, "Happy birthday Dot! May you live to be old and toothless." He said, ruffling my hair.

I usually would've told him off for calling me Dot but I was so happy that he could've called me Satan and I wouldn't have said anything, "Thanks James. I hope you'll join me when I'm at that age." I beamed.

"Winnie! You're finally seventeen! Isn't that great?" Marlene gushed, pulling me out of the bathroom.

I shrugged, "I feel no different than being sixteen but it's not bad." I then sat on my bed, "Thanks for the cake by the way and for everything."

"Why are you thanking us? We haven't done anything yet, Winnie." Sirius said, sitting next to me.

I tucked a strand of curly hair behind my ear, "Yeah but just the fact that you guys care- it means a lot to me." I said, smiling with my teeth.

Marlene aw'ed and hugged me from the side, "Aw, isn't she just the cutest thing?" she cooed.

James laughed, "She's like a little baby. Little baby dot. Yeah, I like the sound of that." He said teasingly.

I batted her away like a mosquito, "Noooooo stop. I'm seventeen now you can't do this to me." I said in faux anger.

She proceeded to pinch my cheek and tug at it, "Aw, Winnie! You think you're all big and grown up, how adorable." she said, laughing.

I laughed, "Okay, okay. I get it. I'm adorable. So what did you guys get me for my birthday?!" I said excitedly.

Sirius smile turned into a grin and he turned to James and gave him a smug face, "Ha! I told you she'd say that! I want my five galleons." he said smirking at James.

Remus rolled his eyes, "Enough children." He said, amusement twinkling in his eyes.

James glared at him and fumbled through his pocket begrudgingly, "Fine." he said and muttered something incoherently and then reluctantly gave Sirius give galleons.

I raised a brow at them, "You made a bet?" I grabbed the nearest pillow and threw it at Sirius's head.

Sirius ducked right before the pillow could hit him, "Sorry darling, still love you though!" he said, his smile widening.

The door suddenly slammed open, making us all jump and direct are heads at Mary MacDonald who walked in, face red. "You guys! McGonagall is coming!" she said panting as if she had run all the way up here, which was probably all looked at each other and began to move around the room like gusts of wind, each of them going in a different direction - frankly it was making my head dizzy as I watched them.

James clapped his hands together and pointed at us, "Okay, everybody downstairs." He said and then turned to look at me, "Except for you. Stay here."

I watched as everyone left the room with an annoyed look on my face. My forehead furrowed and I crossed my arms, "What? No fair! Why do I have to stay here? What are you hiding? It better not be something crazy, James whatever you middle name is Potter!"

He gave me an apologetic look and quickly kissed the top of my head in a platonic fashion, "Sorry." he then left and closed the door before opening it once more, "My middle name is Harry." he said, grinning and then closed the door.

I rolled my eyes but then laughed, "James Harry Potter." His middle name somehow suited him.

The bathroom door swung open and Sirius walked out, "What was that?" he then turned around and glanced at the now-empty room, "Where is everybody?" he asked, confused.

"They're downstairs. Apparently McGonnagal is here."

His eyes widened, "No! she's going to ruin-" His eyes met my curious ones, "Nevermind. I got to go." he laughed nervously and then moved towards the door and tried to open it. Knowing James, I was certain he put a charm on the door to keep me from leaving. Smart git.

"Don't bother. James charmed it." I said lazily, sitting down on the edge of my bed.

Sirius cursed, "What in Merlin's name are we supposed to do now?" he groaned and then collapsed on the bed near the door. Also known as Lily's bed, she would not be happy.

I was going to say something but then I realised that with Sirius in the room I could weasel information out of him so I could figure out what they were planning. A smirk made its way to my face and Sirius must have noticed because he was giving me a suspicious look, I slowly made my way towards him in an innocent manner.

"Hey there Sirius my good friend, my old pal." I laughed, sitting at the edge of the bed. "Isn't it a lovely day outside? I think it is."

He quirked a brow at me, "What do you want? You're acting weird." he said, sitting up.

I twirled a strand of my hair, "What? no I'm not. It's just usual me, Except I'm seventeen. Seventeen year old Winnie." I laughed. I wasn't good at manipulating people for my own benefit and I was almost certain that I sounded like I was under the influence of something.

He inspected my face disbelievingly, "Right, okay." he said and laid back down.

I gave up and sighed, "Sirius, tell me whats going on downstairs." I said, nudging his arm.

He shot up immediately, "Ah, that's why you were acting all weird. You sly girl." He said, nudging my shoulder.

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, I'm a sly girl whatever. Tell me!" I said grabbing his collar and making him look at me.

He stared at my hand that was grasping his shirt, "Merlin Winnie I didn't know you liked me _that_ way." He said flirtatiously.

He was obviously saying that to distract me and to get me to yell at him so I took no heed of his flirtatious ways and asked him again, "Sirius Orion Black you tell me whats going on right now or I'll-"

He cut me off, "You'll what? Curse me to oblivion?" He said, tantalisingly.

Annoyingly he was right, I was going to say that. "Shut up, Black." I said, irritated and let go of his shirt, before crossing my arms and huffing at the fact that I was getting nowhere with him.

"As much as I would love to tell you what's going on downstairs I can't. I'm sworn to secrecy, love. Marauders honour and what not- plus James swore that if I said anything to you he'd rip me to shreds." He said and then lazily put an arm around my shoulder.

I leaned back onto the bed and after a minute or so I decided to ask, "So...what did you get me for my birthday?"

He chuckled and put a finger to his lips, "Sorry love, it's a secret." he said with a wink.

I tugged on his arm, "Aw c'mon Sirius! Fine, don't tell me exactly what it is, but give me a hint. Please?" I said, in the nicest most innocent voice I could muster. I could physically see Sirius give in and when he sighed I knew he broke.

"Alright, alright." He paused, "It has something to do with the sky."

What? The sky? Did he get me a cloud for my birthday? Not that I would mind of course, that would be quite cool actually.

Sirius threw his head back in laughter startling me, "No, I didn't get you a cloud you idiot." He said flicking my forehead.

I didn't realise I had said that out loud, "So what do you want for your birthday?" I asked him.

He looked at me funny, "My birthday isn't for another five months."

I rolled my eyes, "Obviously. I'm planning ahead, you dummy. If I leave it to the last minute I mind end up getting the same gift as one of the boys. Remember fourth year?" I said smartly.

In fourth year, James and I had completely forgotten about Sirius's birthday and only realised it three days before his birthday so we went to random shops and bought the first thing that reminded us of Sirius. A black stuffed dog toy. We had no idea we got the same present until after we both gave him the present at the same time. Sirius ended up burning both of the toys in the fire.

He laughed "Oh yeah - completely forgot about that. That was the day my mom sent me a howler telling me that it was the anniversary of the worst day of her life." He said running a hand through his hair. "She was talking about my birthday."

Instinctively I grabbed his hand and squeezed it comfortingly, "Your mum's a downright she-devil. What an awful woman, I absolutely hate her." I said, angrily.

I couldn't understand why a woman would ever treat her son like that. Her own flesh and blood and she treated him like he was a burden - nothing more and nothing less. It just infuriated me, Sirius was such a good person and he could be an even greater person if only his family didn't make his life a living hell.

"You and me both, honey." He said bitterly and then his eyes trailed onto my hand that firmly grasped his. I felt like if I let go of his hand he would somehow get hurt again.

"Oh sorry." I said releasing his hand and laughing awkwardly.

The door slammed open and James walked in with a huge grin plastered on his face, "Hello - hey, what's going on here? Are you hitting on my sister?" James asked, dubiously looking at Sirius.

"I'm not hitting on Winnie." Sirius said, rolling his eyes.

I raised my brow at James, "I'm not your sister, James! You don't have any siblings. Also, quick question. How do you keep getting up here? Boys aren't allowed up here or the stairs turn into a slide."

James rolled his eyes, "Yeah, but you're like my sister! to answer your question, that doesn't happen if you walk up with a girl and Mary was with me - say hi, Mary." He said and Mary came into our view and gave us a small wave which we returned.

"So can I leave this room now or what?" I asked, excitement bubbling in me like a kettle filled with hot water.

James nodded looking as excited as me, "Yes! yes you can!" He said and then grabbed my arm and dragged me down the stairs and into the common room.

My mouth fell open. The whole room was decorated with pictures of me and the marauders and almost everywhere it said 'happy birthday Winnie!' There were balloons and flowers in almost every corner of the room in my favorite colours. The gryffindor colours of course! I was so happy. It was just us, the good old marauders plus Marlene. It was perfect. I didn't want something big and crazy, I just wanted to have a good time with my friends. I noticed the pile of gifts on the couch and immediately grinned.

I turned around to the guys that stood there. Those stupid idiots that I loved. I felt tears well up in my eyes and I gave them a group hug.

"Guys I just want to thank you all for everything, not just for this. For everything. I love you all." I said, shutting my eyes and trying to savour this moment for as long as I could.

"We love you too, honestly." Remus said, smiling kindly at me.

"I won't believe you until you name your first born child over me." I said looking solemnly making everyone laugh.

Remus laughed, "Consider it done." I wasn't sure if he was being serious or not.

"Cake anyone?" Marlene's voice said, making me turn to her.

"Oh yes please!" James said and we all followed to the fireplace where the cake sat.

They all started handing out the cake and I didn't have the heart to tell them that I actually preferred chocolate cake over vanilla cake. But they were all so happy and they looked like they were enjoying themselves so I knew that I couldn't possibly. All that mattered was that they were happy and so was I.

"Present time!" Marlene's voice said cheerfully and she sat down next to me. She pulled out a neatly wrapped present and handed it to me, looking very _very_ excited.

I laughed at her optimism and took the present unwrapping it, what lay inside was a perfume in a beautiful, sleek looking bottle. I raised my eyebrows at her, surprised at her getting me such a luxurious gift, 'Wow, Marlene. I don't know what to say, thank you so much. It's gorgeous." I said, admiring the bottle.

She smiled looking pleased, "It has the essence of amortentia so it smells differently to everyone based on what they're attracted to! It's so strange and when I saw it I knew I had to get it for you." I thanked her one more time.

Remus handed me his gift - it seemed big and bulky so I unwrapped it to find a art book by my favourite artist, "Wow Remus thank you so much! How did you know that I love Monet?" I said, scanning the pages of the book. Each page was a painting or sketch done by Monet, ranging from his sketches to his most famous paintings.

"Whos Monet?" Marlene said, tilting her head to the side.

I passed her the book so she could see, "He's a famous muggle impressionist, his art is absolutely amazing." I said, admiring the cover.

Remus cleared his throat, "You um - told me about him once. Last year, I think. You said that he was your favourite." He said, scratching the back of his neck.

"Well, thank you - I love it. Honestly. You're so thoughtful." I said and smiled softly at him.

James gave me two gifts, "This one's from me and this one's from your mum and dad." He said grinning at what I assumed to be his present. I was very eager to see what he had gotten me because James had a habit of getting presents that were useless and pointless and every year he got me something weird that I could never use. It was hilarious.

I unwrapped his present and found, "A cup with all our faces in it! Hey- it's also re-fills itself. Thank you, this is actually useful. But no honestly- I'll use this." I said, grinning at the cup. It was a moving picture of all of us, making funny faces and smiling at the camera - a picture we took last year.

I then moved onto my parent's present and opened it and found a pair of thick woollen socks and I burst into laughter, they had taken my letter seriously and actually sent me a pair of socks. Not that I minded of course. Attached with the socks was a note saying 'be careful what you wish for -Greg' I smiled and made a mental note to thank them.

Sirius passed me his gift and I took it curiously wondering what his present had to do with the sky, I opened it carefully and was shocked when I found a necklace that had a sun and moon together in a ying-yang formation. The sun part was glowing, actually glowing. "Wow, this is..breathtakingly beautiful Why is it glowing?" I said and trailed my fingers over the necklace. I was so surprised, not because it wasn't something you'd expect from Sirius. No, he had a knack for picking out expensive gift, it was because in fourth year I drew a sketch that was exactly like the necklace and I gave it to him.

"It reflects your emotions. The sun glows when you're happy and the moon shines when you're sad." He said watching me, "I'm guessing you like it?" He said with a half-smile.

"I don't know what to say - thank you. It's stunning. It looks exactly like the drawing I gave you." I said, running a hand through my hair. The gift was so beautiful - it was a bit overwhelming.

He nodded, "I know." He said simply.

"Look at my present!" Peter said, making me turn to him. I put Sirius's present in my pocket and shot him a grateful smile before I took Peter's present from his hand.

I glanced at the poorly-wrapped present and laughed, at least he tried. I was surprised when I found, "Wow, Peter. How did you manage to get a Zonkos exclusive do it yourself prank set?" I said impressed.

Peter shrugged, "It was on sale." I didn't know why or how but he had been acting a lot more calm around me which was quite a relief.

I laughed, "Thanks anyway." and then turned my body to face all of them, "Thanks for everything guys."

"The party is not over yet! There's a actual party!" James said, grinning.

I laughed and gave in, "You know what? Go nuts. Throw the actual party." I would've said no to the party but I was having such a good night that I just wanted to do whatever would make them happy.

"Oh come on Winnie it'll be fun- Wait what did you just say?" James said, eyes widening when he realised I had actually agreed. "You're okay with it?"

I shrugged, "Yeah, you know what? Maybe it'll be fun. I'm going to go and change out of my pyjamas though but when I return I expect to find a awesome party down here, James Harold Potter!" I said, grinning and walked up the girls stairs.

He gave me a two-finger salute, "You got it, Winifred Erhard Powers!" he said enthusiastically.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"Marlene, if you touch my hair again I'm going to slice your hand off!" I said and touched my now- straightened hair, wincing. Marlene had decided that it would be 'fun' if I dressed up a little bit. I agreed, because why not? But after getting your hair pulled in every direction and teased and whatever else she was doing. The fun part didn't look so fun anymore.

She bit her lip to stop herself from laughing, "I'm sorry but you look so pretty now! Do you want me to put some makeup on you?" Marlene said, looking proud.

I shrugged, "No, it's okay. I do have to congratulate you for taming my curls, though. Not many can accomplish such a thing - including my mother." I said and looked in the mirror, my hair was perfectly straight and despite how neat it looked I really missed my signature curly hair. But I wasn't going to wash my hair now - not after the torture I had just experienced.

Marlene gave a little curtsy, "Thank you, thank you. It was a challenge. But, enough of that. Let's go down! I could really use a butterbeer or two." Marlene said and pulled me out of the room.

When we got down the stairs the first thing we noticed was how incredibly full the common room was. There were even students from the other houses - even a couple of Slytherins. I could vaguely see the boys laughing with a group of people.

"Wow, who are these people?" Marlene asked, raising her brow at a group of third years who were drinking firewhiskey.

I shrugged, "Who knows? I'm going to go and sit with the boys - do you wanna come?" I asked.

She shook her head, smiling "No, but thanks. I'm going to go find Lily and Mary but I'll catch up with you later." She grinned and then disappeared into the crowd.

I made my way to the group of boys who sat at the couch surrounded by many people, apparently James was telling an interesting story because everyone was hanging on to his every word it reminded me of when you I was a child and my mum would tell a story.

"Then, Peter and I found a chocolate frog on the floor and then Peter decided to take a bite- except it wasn't a chocolate frog! It was someone's frog covered in mud!" James said, making the whole crowd burst into laughter- including me.

Frank Longbottom winced, "Poor sod, is he here tonight?" He asked, looking around the room to see if he was there.

James pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "Nah, he's in the infirmary now - sent him a couple of chocolate frogs to make him feel better, but I don't think he'll be eating those." He laughed and then his hazel eyes caught mine, "Hey, it's the birthday girl! Winnie come here!" he said, sounding a bit tipsy.

Everyone turned around and cheered and I laughed awkwardly and moved towards him, "Hey everybody," I said once I reached him. James grabbed two glasses from somewhere and then proceeded to pour a drink and then offer me one. I smiled and took the two glasses from him, "Oh no, I think you've had enough to drink. Excuse me," I said taking the drinks and walking away, shoving past a bunch of people.

Drunk James was my least favourite James. Why? Because his intoxication had stages. At first, he was loud, annoying and way too boisterous. Then, he became emotional and would spill his guts to anyone who listened. Which was hilarious but extremely humiliating when he woke up the next day wondering how everyone knew about his favourite duck boxers. Then, when he got way too drunk. He got reckless. It was like he wanted to build a spaceship and discover a new planet while simultaneously wanting to jump off a cliff. It wouldn't bother me if I was drunk but unlike my friends I hated alcohol, meaning that I was the person in charge of making sure no one would embarrass themselves.

"What?! Is that a drink in Winnie Powers's hand?! Could it be?! Somebody alert the media!" A sarcastic voice said from behind me, Sirius.

A smile made its way onto my lips and I turned around, "Oh yes please do! I'm sure it'll make the front page." I remarked.

His grin matched mine, "No - but honestly. Are you drinking? I thought you were against anything that 'stopped your brain from functioning properly' or something." He said, running a hand through his hair.

I shook my head and poured the drinks into a nearby plant, "Of course not! A man is only as good as his word and I'm a woman so my word is ten times better than a mans! This is James's, I took it before he could go all drunk James on me. What about you? you're supposed to be wasted." I said, nudging him slightly.

He shrugged like he didn't care, "I'm not feeling it. Besides, I don't want to be drunk on your birthday."

I smiled softly and turned my gaze to Remus who was drinking his third glass of firewhiskley "Remus is." You might not believe this but Remus drank. Especially when he had finished 'wolfing out'. I didn't approve but I understood, I would want to forget too.

He stuck his fingers into his pocket and shifted his weight from one foot to another, "Yeah, well if you haven't noticed I'm not Remus..Or James. Or Peter."

My eyes widened and I gaped, making him look at me strangely. "What?! No! Are you kidding? I thought you and James were the same person. What a shock. I think I need to sit down." I said, tilting my head to the side to emphasis my sarcasm.

He rolled his eyes playfully, "Yeah, okay-" Before he could continue a girl's voice called out Sirius's name making him turn and forget what he was going to say to me. "Sorry, Winnie. That's Darla, I have to go." he said, sighing.

Darla? Who was Darla? I scrunched up my eyebrows, "I thought you were dating Genevive?" I questioned.

He looked almost as confused as me, "Who- Oh Darla! No, no. She was nice but way too dramatic. I met Genevive a week ago. Great snogger, terrible personality." he said, shuddering.

I raised my eyebrows looking impressed, "Since when do you care about personality, Sirius Black?" I asked, grinning widely.

He laughed, "Since I realised that there's more to girls than looking pretty and dressing nice."

"Finally a man who gets it!" I high fived him, "Stay awesome you beautiful sea urchin." I said, winking at him.

His face contorted with a variety of emotions, "Did you just call me a _beautiful sea urchin_?" He said, looking amused yet bemused at the exact same time. "You know what, Darla can wait. I need to understand this."

I chortled, "Yes, I did call you a beautiful sea urchin. Would you prefer to be called a beautiful sea hedgehog? They go by a variety of names, you know. Like Uni."

He shook his head making his shaggy hair look messy, "For the first time in my life I have nothing to say to you. You have literally rendered me speechless, Winnie Powers."

I was going to retort but when I ran a hand through my hair and didn't accidentally tug on my curls, my attention turned to my hair. Oh right, it was straight now. Straight, smooth and silky. I hated it. I grabbed a piece of my hair and glared at it intently. Sirius noticed because he gave me a look that said that he was questioning my nonexistent sanity.

"Eh, you okay there Dot?" He asked, scanning my face.

"Have you seen my hair?" I asked, still staring at my hair.

Recognition filled his senses and he nodded understandingly, "It was the first thing I noticed. I must say it's different. Not bad, but I prefer your curly hair."

I smiled, "Me too! Marlene thought it was a good idea and so did I at first but now I kind of miss the curls. It made me different in a way- now I'm like every other girl here."

He chuckled, "Winnie, as the guy who has snogged almost every girl here I can assure you that your hair isn't the only thing that makes you unique. You're not the only girl with curly hair here. It's you who's different. Not your hair. You could look like every girl here but you'll never be like them. You're not like anyone I've ever met before. You stick out like a sore thumb, Winnie. In the best way possible." He said, smiling.

I gulped, trying to stop my heart from beating so fast. In that moment I felt like running away and hiding under the covers. I didn't know what to say, it was like my mouth couldn't form sentences - I was so confused. There was something about the way he was saying things that made me want to cry. I didn't know how to act or how to do anything. It was like I was frozen. Was he being nice or was he being flirty? I couldn't tell so I decided to do what I usually did- I decided to play it cool.

I put on a grin, "Thanks a lot, Sirius. I guess I am pretty damn unique and amazing."

His face lost all sign of amusement, "Listen Winnie-" Before he was able to continue Darla Briggs made her way over to us, looking angry and drunk. Never a good sign.

"What the hell, Sirius? You said you were coming to meet me." Darla said, swaying slightly as she approached us. I eyed the drink in her hand.

He scrunched his eyebrows in confusion, "I never said that, Darla and I was coming, I was just talking to my friend here. " He said, pointing at me.

It was like I could breathe again. So he was being nice! I was just his friend, Thank Godric for that. I was overreacting once more and now I was reassured of our relationship. I couldn't help but feel a little bit sad though. Only a bit.

Darla turned to me and narrowed her eyes, "Are you trying to steal my man?" She swayed, making the drink spill slightly. "If you are, you better tell me right now."

I gave her the most deadpan expression I could possibly muster, "Oh yes. You got me. I was trying to steal Sirius from you so we could run away together and start a family. It's not like we have been friends for - oh I don't know. Six years." I said sarcastically.

Darla's eyes widened, "You bitch!" She screeched, dropping the drink and coming right at me. Luckily, I was taller than her as well as stronger due to Quidditch so I grabbed her arms before she could hit me.

In one swift motion, Sirius swept her off her feet (literally) and sat her down in a nearby chair. He turned and gave me an apologetic look which I shrugged off immediately.

I turned my attention onto Darla, "Now that wasn't very nice _Darla_ ," I hissed at her, "Just because you're insecure doesn't mean you have to take it out on me."

Darla stuck her bottom lip out and pouted, "How did you know I was insecure?" She mumbled to herself.

I rolled my eyes, "Lucky guess." I turned to Sirius, "Break up with her, would you?" I said, annoyedly.

Sirius raised a brow at me, "When she's drunk? I have more dignity than that." he said, huffing slightly. I gave him a pointed look and he sighed, giving in. He sat down on the chair next to Darla and turned on his 'Sirius mode' as I liked to call it. It was when Sirius would talk to girls and he would be able to get them to do anything, it was like hypnotism.

He sat down on the chair next to her, "Darla, listen darling. I have to be honest with you." I tried to stifle my laughter as I waited him to start his speech.

Darla looked at him, almost dazedly, "Do you want to be with me forever and ever?" she said in a dreamy voice.

He gave her a tight-lipped smile and shook his head almost sadly, "No, love. Quite the opposite. You are a beautiful, smart and exceptional woman but you're not the one for me. We had fun together but it has come to an end. You were lovely and I'm sure you're going to find the one for you - but it's not me. I'm sorry."

Darla furrowed her brows, "But - but we're perfect together. You said so yourself!" She said looking outraged.

I gave Sirius a stern look, "He did, didn't he? Oh, isn't that just swell." I said, sarcasm rolling off my tongue.

Darla glared at me, "What do you have to do with anything? Wait- don't tell me. Are you his one?" she said, looking like a sad puppy.

My face contorted in confusion, "Am I his one? His one what?" My eyes met with Sirius who was mouthing 'go with it' so I nodded, "Uh yes! yes, I'm sorry but I am his - eh..one."

Darla nodded and stood up, "I knew it. You're the one for him. " What?! I turned to Sirius who shrugged, "I should've guessed! I'm nothing compared to you." Darla said breaking my heart.

I shook my head, "No - Darla, you're beautiful and amazing. It's not you - it's him! Really. You are going to find someone. Like Anthony Hergold. I heard he's single!" I said, throwing the name of the first single guy I knew to her. Like throwing a bone to a hungry dog.

Darla grinned, "Yeah? you think so? He is kind of cute." I nodded, encouragingly. "Okay, I'll go talk to him!" Darla said and disappeared into the crowd.

I then turned to Sirius, "What the hell was that? Now she's going to tell everyone that I'm your one!" I said laughing.

He grinned, "Yeah, 'cause that makes perfect sense."

"You should've seen you - you were smooth like butter." I said, nudging him. "Oh Darla you're a smart and exceptional woman! I can't believe she bought your crap."

He looked almost proud, "I know, I'm so good I can flirt with girls without them even realising it."

He sniggered, "You should've seen your face when she told you that you were my one- your face looked like a mix between confused and panicked. It was absolutely hilarious." He then exploded into laughter, which made me laugh. It was so weird, tonight had been so weird and it was hilarious.

"I was so confused! I thought she was talking about math for a second there." I said laughing.

Sirius leaned towards me, "You know she means that we should be dating right?" He said flirtatiously. Now, I knew he wasn't being nice. He was being Sirius. I decided to give him a taste of his own medicine. It was my birthday!

I nodded, leaning towards him. "Yep, you know. I think she's right. We should be dating." I said flirtatiously.

His eyebrows shot up, "You - what?" he asked, confused.

I raised my eyebrows 'seductively' I think, "Mhm, just picture it. Winnie and Sirius, us against the world. We could be the dream team, the money-makers. The hotshots. What do you say, handsome?" I smirked, staring into his grey eyes.

His eyes left mine and he seemed to be almost thinking about it but then he clenched his jaw, "You're kidding, right birthday girl?" he said, meeting my gaze with a small smile.

I laughed and nodded, "Yeah but you believed me, I guess I'm smooth as butter too." I said brushing off the nonexistent lint from my shoulder.

"You're not and I didn't believe anything." he laughed, draping an arm around my shoulder, "But you know what? I accept. Let's be the dream team, the hotshots and whatever the other thing was."

"The money makers." I grinned, "You sure you're up for this, Sirius Black? I don't mess around here. I go hard or I go home." I didn't exactly know what the dream team was but it sounded like a lot of fun.

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I think I'm up for it. I don't know what it is, exactly but hey - why not? Life is short."

I beamed, "Great! First thing's first you have to make out with Peter to join the dream team."

He snorted "Yeah, I don't think so, Powers." he laughed. "Happy birthday you idiot." he said, with a small smile playing on his lips.

In that exact moment a crash was heard.

* * *

 **To all those who reviewed!**

 **EG: Thank you for your continued support for this story, your reviews honestly make my day.**

 **Gyugeegee: Thank you for liking my story! I'm considering it greatly.**

 **hellogoodbye2: Thank you so much and I'll definitely keep writing, it's one of my favourite hobbies.**

 **Guest: Aw, thank you! I work really hard and it's nice to know someone appreciates it and I know what you mean. Winnie is so darn shippable.**

 **Guest 2: Thanks for the support!**


	16. HIATUS

Hi everyone, its me eyesthetic! so unfortunately this story is going to go on a hiatus for a month or two because I am going on holiday! Yeah, I know it sucks but please bear with me! During that time I will have little to no access to internet so I won't be updating. I'm sorry for that but I will make it up to you guys when I return. Thank you all for reading and I hope you guys have as much as an awesome summer as I am planning to!

All my love,

eyesthetic

P.S. leave me a review telling me who you think Winnie should be with! I am quite curious to know what my other readers think.


	17. Chapter 16

**Hi everyone! So I somehow got some WiFi and I present you chapter 16! I just want to assure everyone who reviewed that I am taking into consideration what you guys are saying and I really appreciate the feedback. Also, I will be officially be back to writing next week or the week after it. Thank you all and I hope you enjoy.**

Chapter 16

"What the bloody hell was that?" A voice said. Mine.

Sirius and I stood up, trying to see over the crowds, there was someone moving around - crashing into things and being fairly loud and annoying. I couldn't see well from far so I moved in closer so I could get a better view. I wish I hadn't.

"Is that James?" Sirius spluttered, laughing.

James was standing on the table now, a shot in his hand. He looked like he was saying something but I couldn't hear over the buzz of the people around me. I could however hear the drunken cheers around me every time James said something. Suddenly, James began to sing. His voice was not singing material - he was loud, pitchy and all around terrible. I wasn't sure whether to laugh at him or to stop him. The marauder part of me wanted to take a picture of this and remind James of this moment the next time he was sober but the other part of me wanted me to stop him. I was kind of torn.

"You're my sunshine!" he sang, "You're my only sunshine! I love you when I'm okay!" I slapped a hand across my forehead. I had taught him that song in second year and not only was he singing it badly he wasn't even singing the right lyrics! I was ashamed and appalled.

"Hey, isn't he singing the muggle song you taught him? I hate that song." Sirius said his eyes focused on James.

I stared at him openmouthed and proceeded to hit his shoulder, "How dare you! It's a lovely song. What do you listen to anyway? Other than the music of Satan of course."

Sirius guffawed, "Haha, very funny."

"You make me happy when skies are blue- grey, I mean grey!" James swayed "You make me-" he didn't get to finish his sentence because he stumbled and fell face-first onto the floor. The crowd gasped as they tried to figure out what to do. This was basically my signal to interfere. Sirius and I ran towards him, pushing the people around us so that we could save the drunken James from further humiliation - if that was even possible.

Sirius and I exchanged a look, "You okay, Prongs?!" I asked, loudly hoping he could hear me.

He patted my cheek and nodded dreamily, "Yes, I'm fine. But, I didn't know that dragons could talk." His eyes went to Sirius, "Sirius Padfoot Black! Where have you been?" he said, grinning at him.

I rolled my eyes at James. So I was the dragon but Sirius was himself? Also, I wondered if James knew was Sirius's middle name was. It was Orion.

Sirius chortled and helped his drunk friend up "I've been here the whole time. But enough about that how do you feel, mate?"

James stuck both of his thumbs up, "I-I feel terrible- no, terrific. Terrific! Can I jus' say, you are- you are my best. You, Winnie, Remus and Pete-er are my bests. I love you." James slurred his words, jabbing his finger into Sirius's chest.

Sirius laughed and clapped a hand onto his back, "Thanks mate, alright let's go upstairs."

James shook his head and began to look wildly around the room, "W- wait I didn't say happy birthday to Win-winnie." he said, looking like a sad child.

My heart softened at his words, "I'll tell her, James." I piped up. "I promise."

James smiled at me, with his eyes half-closed. "Thanks dragon." he said and then waved at me before climbing up the stairs with Sirius who was trying and failing to stop himself from laughing.

Can you say weirdest birthday ever? Despite the strange things that have happened today I was happy. That's all that mattered.

* * *

I smiled at everyone as I entered The Great Hall and sat down in our usual places. James and Remus were blankly staring at their food, they both looked like the human equivalent of a zombie. Sirius and Peter were engaged in conversation in hushed voices which I assumed was because Remus and James were both extremely hungover.

"Good morning, I presume?" I said, taking a swig of my pumpkin juice.

James looked at me with tired eyes, "Winnie, I love you- I do, but please refrain from talking." he said and proceeded to wrap his arms around his head and lay his head on the table.

I snorted, "I think that was the nicest way to tell someone to shut up." My eyes flashed to Remus who was resting his head on his hand, eyes closed. "You alright Remus?"

His eyelid fluttered open for a second or two before they shut once more, "I'm in the best mood ever, my energy levels are high. I feel like I can take on the world." He said sarcasm rolling off his tongue.

I raised my eyebrow at him, "Wow, you sound just like me. I guess you learned from the best." I said and then shuffled through my bag before pulling out two vials of hangover potion. "Look alive fellas, you're going to love me more than you already do,"

James didn't look up, "What did you do now?" he mumbled.

I nudged both of them, "Two vials of hangover potion for my two idiotic best friends." I said, grinning.

Both of their hands snapped up as if I had just announced that a war was happening right this moment and they took the vials desperately out of my hand and drank it in one go. I wasn't sure whether to be impressed or concerned. Both, definitely both.

Remus wiped his mouth with his shirt, "You were right, I do love you. I am definitely naming my child after you."

James looked like he was in paradise, "The headache's gone, I can breathe! I can see! I can live!" He said melodramatically, "You are a saviour. A hero! You shall be rewarded, Winnie Erhard Powers!" he exclaimed while pointing at me.

Sirius laughed, "Your middle name is Erhard ? Your parents must hate you." He teased.

I chuckled, "I like to think they're creative!" My gaze turned to James "Also, quick question - how do you know my middle name? I never told anyone about it." I said, narrowing my eyes at him suspiciously.

James ran a hand through his hair, "Ah, a wizard never reveals his secrets." he said with a wink.

My finger traced my bottom lip, "So..Greg told you?" Greg and James occasionally sent letters to each other. James would request quidditch tips. Greg would refuse. That sort of thing.

His grin disappeared and he slumped his shoulders, "Yeah." He mumbled as if I had exposed his secrets or something. "He sent me tickets to his next match! In the holidays, isn't that great?"

Sirius spun around, "Tickets to whose match?" He pried, darting his eyes between us.

I swallowed on a piece of toast, "The Chudley Cannons, of course! You guys should all come! I'm going. I can get you all tickets."

James banged his palms on the table making the food jump up a little, "That is a brilliant idea - do it. We are all going to have the best time ever."

Remus scratched the back of his head, "Do I have to? I mean quidditch is great and all but I want to relax in the holidays..if that's okay with you guys."

Sirius looked at him sadly, "What! no! it won't be the same without you Moony!"

Peter decided to speak, "Uh yeah guys, me too. I'm actually travelling to Ireland in the christmas holidays." he said meekly.

James gasped, "Not you too Wormtail!" he then met my eyes, "This is an outrage on all levels."

Remus cut up his eggs, "How many levels are there exactly?" He said, asking rhetorically.

I laughed at James's dramatic behaviour and looked at all of them, "Okay Wormtail you're excused this time but you," I narrowed my eyes at Remus, "Have no excuse Mr! you have to come and cheer my brother on."

Remus sighed, "Do I have to? I mean, he's not my brother."

I gasped and put my hand on my heart, "How dare you Remus whatever your middle name is Lupin! I am not only shocked - I am disappointed. You know what I don't care I'm getting you and Peter tickets."

Remus laughed, "My middle name is John and you can get me a ticket but that doesn't mean I'll come."

I looked away dramatically, "I just can't - I just can't believe it."

Remus gave me an apologetic look, "I'm sorry but who knows I might-" He said before I cut him off.

My eyes widened, "No! I can't believe your middle name is John. I was so sure that it was Jacob - guess you were right Prongs." I said, looking over at James who was stuffing his face.

James swallowed his food, "I told you it was John! You owe me two knuts." he said, looking proud of himself. Smug prick.

I rolled my eyes, "No I don't and if you keep asking for it you'll have no nuts."

Remus laughed, "Did you hear that James?" he said, grinning.

Sirius spat out his pumpkin juice, "Looks like somebody is on fire today," he said wiping his lips with a smile.

James turned a little pink, "I- eh- shut up Winifred." he said sheepishly.

I sipped my pumpkin juice proudly, "That's what I thought." I said grinning.

* * *

I slipped through the empty hallway, mumbling a happy tune that was popular these days. I had just finished another detention with McGonnagall and for some reason she decided to just let me sit and read for detention. Which was absolutely great..and extremely suspicious, now that I thought about it.

The hallway was empty and I realised it was almost time for dinner. I paused and looked at my watch, I had ten minutes before I had to- my sentence was stopped short when a sweaty hand clamped over my mouth and before I could react I was asleep.

When I awoke, I was in someplace dark. I couldn't see anything but I could feel people around me. Probably because whoever was there was breathing so loudly. Suddenly they all started sniggering and I could feel my cheeks reddening from anger and embarrassment. There was a cloth tied around my mouth so I couldn't talk, I also felt my arms tied behind my back - without rope. Magic.

"She's awake, finally. I thought you said that it would make her sleep for a bit." A strange voice said, obviously someone I didn't know. I furrowed my brows trying to see if that voice was familiar but I couldn't place it.

Someone scoffed, "oh sorry, do I look like I know how to make a sleeping potion? I don't take potions anymore!" Another voice said, a deep familiar voice. But at the same time I had no idea who it was and it was annoying me.

The cloth was ripped out of my mouth and I erupted, "Excuse me but who the hell do you think you are? Are you insane?" I said and tried to kick whoever ripped the cloth.

"Somebody do something to shut her up," The familiar voice said annoyed.

"Like what? Kill her?" The other voice scoffed.

"Why would we kill her when we could ruin her life instead?" A sarky voice said instead. I knew this voice, I could recognise it anywhere.

Suddenly the light flickered on and three people stood. Mulciber, Crabbe, Avery and the worst of all Kenneth Williams. It was like somebody took a knife and stabbed it deep into my heart, took it out and did it again. A thousand times.

"W-what...what the hell is going on?" I wheezed, barely able to utter a few words. I wanted to cry right then and there but I held myself, I wouldn't allow them to have the pleasure of seeing me cry.

"What do you think Winnie? You ruined my life. You turned everyone against me. What's going on you ask? A little thing called revenge, love." Kenneth said, inching his face towards mine and grinning crazily at me.

My heart sped up, I had never been so terrified in my life. This was sheer, pure terror. The people standing before me were utterly insane and they probably didn't even see it. I wasn't going to let them know that I was scared, that I was stopping my legs from shaking.

I raised an eyebrow at him, "Okay, then. We know why you're here what about you two? Hmm, care to share with us? I'm especially curious about why you're here Avery, since I never openly did anything to you." I said, smirking. I didn't know how I was able to speak properly but I somehow could.

Kenneth licked his lips, looking a bit defeated about the fact that I didn't look or act scared despite the fact that Kenneth scared me more than Mulciber and Avery. Crabbe was more annoying than scary.

Mulciber laughed, "I told you I'd get you didn't I mud blood? You proud mud blood, thinking you're so great. Thinking you're so smart. You're not. You're nothing but filth." He said glaring at me, " and it's time for you to pay."

Avery snickered, "Why am I here? Because I'm bored and I hate disgusting mudbloods like you. Does that answer your question?" He said and then took out his wand and stared at me, happily.

"No," Kenneth said and pushed Avery out of the way, "I'll do it," he grinned and then took out his wand and pointed at me, "Imperio." He said wickedly.

With a flick of his wrist I was up. It was like I had no control over my body, I suddenly walked left and right making them all laugh. I felt like a prisoner in my own body, I couldn't move any part of my body all I could do was watch.

"Now you are going to go to the great Hall and see your friends and you're going to break their hearts. You're going to make them hate you - no wait, you're going to make everyone hate you too. Especially James Potter." Kenneth said and spat James's name like it was poison. He always was jealous of James.

I tried to fight it, tried to stop myself but I couldn't and I could feel myself leave the room eqand walk to the great Hall, every step felt like an eternity and I wanted to cry, I wanted to cry so badly and I did. I couldn't control my body but I could cry, tears were rushing from my eyes. I couldn't see where I was going but I knew where I was going.

I pushed open the door to the great Hall and moved towards the boys who were talking loudly and laughing, Sirius was the first one to see me and wave me over. No, stop. I couldn't do this to them.

"Hey Winnie! Come and hear what James - hey, why are you crying, what's wrong?" He said concern evident in his voice, his grey eyes took in my state. I assumed my face was stoic but I was crying. How weird must I have looked?

"Winnie? What's going on?" James said, standing up and putting a hand on my shoulder.

"I need you to leave me alone." I said emotionless, "I don't like you. I never did. I wasn't Sony friends with you guys because you were popular."

Every word that was coming out my my mouth was a stab at my heart, I couldn't imagine how they were feeling.

Remus furrowed his brows, "Is this a joke? Winnie what are you saying?" He said looking hurt.

I spoke monotonous, "I can't pretend to like you guys anymore. You all mean nothing to me and I don't care about any of you. You could all drop dead right now and I wouldn't give a damn." I didn't know where these words were coming from, I assumed this had to do with Kenneth. He was probably making me say all this.

Sirius cracked his knuckles and studied my face intently, "If this is true. If all you are saying is true then why are you crying?" He said and got off the table and stood opposite me.

I wanted to tell him that this was all because of Kenneth, I wanted to hug him - I wanted to do anything besides this. Apparently Kenneth wasn't prepared for this because I didn't reply.

"I'm not lying to you, I honestly don't care about you and I don't want to be friends with any of you. I thought I could learn to like you guys but I can't. You're all so stuck up and rude, I even dumped Kenneth because of you. This was a big mistake and I don't think you should ever talk to me - I know I won't talk to any of you." I said nonchalantly as if talking about the weather or the time. I rolled my eyes at the Kenneth bit. Stupid Kenneth.

James clenched his jaw and ruffled his hair, "Is this true? Do you really feel that way? Because I've known you for years - this isn't you." James said and narrowed his eyes at me, suspiciously.

I was so happy. Yes! He was right this wasn't me. If there was one person I could count on it as James, maybe he could figure out what was truly happening.

Sirius glared at me, "She wouldn't be saying it if it wasn't true. I mean, Winnie never does this kind of stuff. Maybe she's telling the truth. If what you wanted as for us to hate you then wish granted." Sirius said bitterly.

Remus ran a hand through his hair, " Why are you doing this? I don't- I don't understand." He said shaking his head.

Every part of me wanted to destroy Kenneth.

"Yes that's exactly what I want. Leave me alone. In fact, I'm directing this to everyone here. Leave me alone. I hate all of you anyway." I said talking to the people around you and then turned back to them, "Especially you four. Merlin, I hate all of you. Smug pricks." I said and then turned around and left. I could never forget the hurt looks on their faces.

I felt my body take me back to the place where I woke up, somewhere on the fifth floor. The door opened for me and I was pulled in despite the fact they had total control over my body! They just had to pull me in. Idiots.

Mulciber started to laugh, " That was great! They all hate you. Serves you right you disgusting piece of filth."

Suddenly I could move my body again so I did the smartest thing, I slapped Kenneth as hard as I could. "How could you? You evil cockroach! How could you? You're disgusting - you all are. I hope you're cold because it's going to be flaming hot where you're going!"

Avery, Mulciber and Kenneth gaped at me. Luckily they were all stupid and slow, I pushed the door open and ran - ran as fast as I could. But not before I was petrified. I couldn't move at all, stupid Kenneth wasn't as slow and stupid as I had thought. He quickpy and shakily took out his wand from his pocket and pointed at me.

"Obliviate." He said, gulping.

Oh no.


	18. Chapter 17

**Hi everyone! I'm back! I hope none of you thought that I had abandoned this story - because I assure you I have not. I want to thank everyone for their reviews and favorites. I do hope you enjoy this chapter because I definitely enjoyed writing it. Also, is it just me or when you read your older work you just cringe? I re-read the first few chapters of this story. Cringe attack. Also, comment who you think Winnie should end up with! I have a lot of readers, yet I don't know what they think so please tell me! I would love to know, for some reason reading everyone's opinion on who Winnie should end up with makes me happy.**

Chapter 17

Have you ever had that feeling where you woke up and had no idea where you were, what you were doing there or why there was a huge bruise on your hand? No? Of course you wouldn't! Because these things don't happen to normal people but wait! I, Winnie Powers was not normal in any way, shape or form so of course something like this would happen to me.

The first thing I could feel was how painful and heavy my head felt - sort of like I had been kicked in the head by a ball three million times. My eyes fluttered open and I could see that I was on the abandoned floor, which was distinguishable from the other floors due to the fact that it was completely empty. I sat up and winced, too much pressure on my hand.

"Hey! what are you doing here?!" Filch's voice rang out, I could faintly hear the meowing of his cat Mrs. Norris, or Satan's apprentice as I'd liked to 'fondly' call her. In a few seconds he was standing over me, looking at me curiously.

I sighed and replied sarcastically as usual, "What does it look like I'm doing Filch? I'm counting the dust particles, obviously. I'm at five million and - oh no, you made me lose count!" I said, looking annoyed.

Filch rolled his eyes, "That's enough of your jibber jabber, get back into the great hall and if I see you here again - I'll be hanging you by your wrists!" He said, glaring at me.

I had an amazing retort to that stupid comment of his but I was almost certain that it would send me to detention so I did the smart thing and bit my tongue and stood up. Mrs. Norris hissed at me as they made sure I walked into the great hall. When Filch wasn't looking I transformed my hand into a cheetah's paw and pretended to slice the air, a mad grin in my eyes. She hissed once more but ran off. Smart cat.

I pushed open the doors to the great hall and everyone fell silent when I walked in. My eyebrows furrowed, I was late but I wasn't that late was I? All the attention was making my cheeks burn and I ducked my head as I made my way over the Gryffindor table and sat next to my friends. When I looked up, all I was met with was glares. One girl was even looking at me with disgust and mouthing, 'how could you'. I mouthed back 'what?' but she scoffed at me and turned away.

That's weird.

I gulped, feeling a bit hurt but it was okay. It was just a girl. Nothing my friends couldn't fix! I turned to James who was poking his food and giving me his shoulder, he had a somber expression on his face and he wasn't eating, just gliding the food from one area to another. I bit my lip as I took in his overall body, his shoulders were slumped over and he was trying to make himself look smaller - as if trying to get attention away from him.

I bit my lip, "Um, James. Are you okay?" I asked, quizzically.

His body turned to me slowly, confusion evident on his face. His face contorted into a variety of different expressions before he scoffed, "Are you kidding me? You're seriously going to ask me that?" he said sounding..hurt. His expression was hurt and that hurt me.

Why was he looking at me like this? Why did he sound hurt? Had I offended him somehow? Did he not want to talk? Was he having a bad day? Did I say something this morning? I tried to remember what had happened this morning - but it was blank. I couldn't remember much of what happened. Only bits and pieces. For some reason I did remember seeing Kenneth. It was strange. I didn't remember anything - but I remembered Kenneth, it was only a glimpse. Like a short hello, perhaps. But I never said hello to Kenneth. The last thing I could remember was a feeling. A burning rage. Along with a feeling of hopelessness. Like I wanted to do something but I couldn't. But I couldn't remember anything at all.

I raised my eyebrow at him, "James, what are you - what are you talking about?" I said, shaking my head slightly.

He looked at me but didn't reply and instead turned his back and began conversation with whoever was sitting next to him, I looked at the other marauders for help but they weren't glancing at me. They were blatantly ignoring me. Even Remus was avoiding my gaze. So was everyone else, I noticed. I tried to grab James's arm, tried to get him to at least listen to me.

"James," I whispered, "What is happening? Please tell me so I can fix this." I pleaded.

He turned around and I almost breathed a sigh of relief, maybe he was going to listen. Maybe I could at least understand what the bloody hell was going on. He looked at me, but I couldn't read his eyes,

He searched my eyes, "Winnie- just stop." He then proceeded to pull his arm away and leave.

I felt my chest tighten and I looked at Sirius, Remus and Peter who were not looking at me, "Guys?" I asked, close to tears. Sirius looked up and glared at me, spitefully and I just couldn't take it. I nodded and I stood up, erratically moving towards the door hoping no one could see me. Ever again. I shut the doors behind me and stared at them, I could hear the students chatting but all I could focus on was the hot tears dripping down my face. I didn't even remember crying, yet here I was.

I found myself sitting on the grass, it was dark now and I was sure that everyone would be in bed by now but I couldn't possibly go to sleep. Not with so much on my mind. I just wanted to lay down and think. What had made everyone act that way? Did someone start a nasty rumour to try to make my friends hate me? That seemed logical, but they weren't stupid. They wouldn't believe that. So what was it? What could have made them act like that? I laughed bitterly. I had no clue.

"You shouldn't be out this late," a soft voice said, "You might find yourself getting lost."

My eyes fluttered open and I was greeted by the ghost of Helena Ravenclaw, "Helena - hi, what are you doing here?" I asked, confused. Helena Ravenclaw was a kind ghost, but quiet and not very popular She hardly spoke to anyone except Ravenclaws but I assumed that she was speaking to me because I was one of the few students who were actually polite to her.

She gave me a small smile, "You have certainly had a day, haven't you?" She asked rhetorically and then floated next to me.

I laughed, sitting up. "Tell me about it- wait, how would you know?" I asked, scrunching up my brows.

She laughed to herself mostly, "People tend to forget about us ghosts but we see everything, probably more than the headmaster does." Her eyes trailed down onto my hand, "How's your hand by the way, it looks better than it did before. Can't say the same thing for him, though." She said, smirking.

I shook my head, extremely confused. "What do you mean? Who's him-" my eyes widened, "Spit in my cup and call it tea - Helena, do you know what happened to me?!" I said, my voice getting higher due to the excitment bubbling in my chest.

She looked confused at my analogy but nodded all the same, "Yes, of course. How could _you_ not know?" She floated around me, eyeing me suspiciously.

I could almost cry tears of joy, finally! some answers! Maybe I could finally wrap my head around why the hell everyone seemed to despise my existence.

"No, I don't - I don't have any idea what happened to me. It's like I lost my memo-" I couldn't finish. No, no way. Could it be possible that I lost my memory somehow? Had someone performed a memory charm on me? But of course! It made sense. The bits and pieces, the fact that I had no recollection of what happened today. Someone performed a memory charm on me! and whoever had done it wasn't very good at the charm, at all. The spell was rushed. If performed correctly it could not only wipe a day's memory, it could wipe a lifetime of memories.

Helena Ravenclaw seemed to have understood too because she clocked her tongue distastefully as if she had once felt the same way, knowing her story, I knew that she did. Sort of.

She floated around, "That wicked boy. Ravenclaw too, I simply can't remember his name - it's on the tip of my tongue. Kevin was it?" She said, tilting her head to the side.

Helena began to name a bunch of names that began with K. Of course I knew who she was talking about. It had to be him. I should have suspected from the beginning. Who hated me more in this world than him? But I needed solid proof- evidence, not just theories. I need to know if he actually did it or not.

I shuddered, "Kenneth. His name is Kenneth Williams. He was - he and I were - eh, together." I said disgusted. "He did this to me?"

Helena Ravenclaw sighed and gave me a sympathetic look, "I didn't see the whole thing but I did hear someone running so I followed the noise, curiosity of course is a part of the Ravenclaw nature." she said, a bit proudly and I tried to refrain from rolling my eyes, ushering her to go on, "You were running and then I saw him chase after you, a crazy look in his eye. You two began to fight, you yelled at him. He took out his wand, and at the same time he muttered the spell you punched him square in the face! Ha!" Helena began to giggle to herself.

That must have been why the spell didn't perform as it should have, Kenneth was fairly good at charms. That was also why I had a bruise on my hand. I felt a feeling of pride swell up in my chest, at least I had punched him. That made me feel a little bit better. But that didn't explain why everyone hated me. It was still confusing.

I stood up and began to pace around, "It still doesn't make sense. Why does everyone hate me? Why do my friends hate me? Why does James hate me?" I muttered the last part to myself.

Helena smiled sadly, "I can't answer that I'm afraid, but you could try asking the other ghosts." she said and ushered to the castle, "Tomorrow, perhaps. You need some rest."

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, "I guess, thanks Helena." I said and began to walk back to the castle.

"James doesn't hate you - believe me. I don't think he ever could and your other friends? They'll come around. The good one's always do." Helena said wisely and I turned around and gave her a small smile.

I hoped she was right.

Even the fat lady was treating me badly, even after saying the correct password three times she wouldn't let me enter. Only after having to threaten to slice her portrait with a knife she allowed me to enter the gryffindor tower. I grumbled under my breath and walked in to the empty common room, the fire was still nice and warm so I decided to plop myself onto the couch.

Only if I hadn't plopped myself onto James Potter. He groaned and fell off the couch, glasses falling off with him. Thankfully I had held onto the arm rest but if I didn't I would've fell right onto his face.

I clasped a hand on my mouth to quieten my gasp, "Whoa! sorry - sorry, that was an accident! I promise! are you okay?!" I said and got his glasses, pulling him up.

He laughed and took the glasses from his hand, "That was a strange way to wake up from a nap - oh, Winnie." He said, eyes focusing. The grin on his face was soon replaced by a timid look on his face. "Yeah, I'm fine." he said, looking awkwardly at the ground.

I gulped, "James wait - please. Hear me out, okay?" I said practically begging him.

James shook his head, avoiding my gaze. "I don't" He managed to say, "I don't want to. What you said was enough, Winifred." he said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

I was so overwhelmed. How was I supposed to get him to understand when he simply didn't want to listen? How was I supposed to ask for forgiveness when I didn't know what I had done wrong? The paradox I was currently in wasn't just driving me insane, it was driving everyone around me insane as well. James was probably as confused as me.

It was like I couldn't speak properly. All the words I wanted to say were perfect in my head but I couldn't get that out.

"Can you - stop - The Grey Lady -I didn't do or say what you think I did- Kenneth did something - I'm innocent, I swear. I wouldn't -I wouldn't hurt you like that." I said, moving my hands around to empathise how truthful I was.

James clenched his jaw when he heard Kenneth's name, "Kenneth? What did he do? Winnie, I don't understand. What about the grey lady? How did you not say what you said? What the hell is going on?" He said, incredulously.

I sat down, pulling his arm down with me to make him sit too. He did. I ran a hand through my dark hair and tried to get myself together, if that was even possible. I took a deep breathe and stared into his hazel eyes.

"James, I woke up. On the abandoned floor with this in my hand," I showed him the bruise, "My head was spinning and Filch found me and told me that if I wasn't in the great hall then I would be in detention. So I went. Thats when I realized that everyone wanted me to drop dead, especially you guys. I talked to the grey lady - she told me that I had been fighting with Kenneth, punched him too. He obliviated me the same time I punched him, which is why I could remember - I remembered feeling angry. Then hopeless, like I couldn't control something. I - I don't know. James please believe me, if there is anyone who I can count on in this world then it's you." I said, hoping that my voice didn't seem rushed. Even though it was.

James studied my face intently and cleared his throat, "Everyone - everyone would tell me not to. But no one knows you like I do and if you say Kenneth has something to do with it, then I believe you.""

I could almost cry as I threw my body onto his, I wrapped my arms around him. Relief washed over my body and I smiled, truly and honestly smiled. He immediately responded back to the hug and I felt actual tears well up in my eyes. Thank God for James. James Potter was no ordinary human, he was an angel. Lily Evans was lucky to have a guy like him lusting over her.

After I pulled away, I wiped my eyes. "I love you, I really do. Don't ever doubt that for a minute. I don't - I don't know what I did, but that wasn't me. Whatever he did, he must have been controlling me or something. Can you do that?" I asked, hurriedly.

James laughed and touched my cheek fondly, "Okay, okay. I love you too and yeah, you can. But that's a forbidden spell, he wouldn't do that. Kenneth may be a prick but he wouldn't voluntarily do something to tarnish his reputation, especially since his father works in the ministry." He pointed out.

I stood up and paced around the fireplace, "So what was his motive? Why would he do anything to me? What did he do?" My eyes widened and I turned to James, "What did I tell you guys?"

James ran a hand through his hair, "Some pretty intense stuff. You said that you never cared about us, that we could drop dead and you wouldn't care. You said that you hated us and was only friends with us because of our so called 'popularity'. Stuff like that, I don't want to remember it." he said sheepishly.

I gaped, "What? That's - James, that's not true at all! Kenneth was obviously trying to sabotage me. That filthy rat." I said, angrily glaring at the glowing fire.

I have never hated Kenneth Williams as much as I did right now. That guy was ruthless. He was willing to sabotage my relationship with my friends and turn everyone against me just because people started to see him for what he truly was?

"Eh, what the hell is going on?" Sirius's voice said, making my head snap up.

Oh boy.


	19. Chapter 18

Thank you all for the positivity and feedback I got on my last chapter! It seriously made my day. Enjoy! Also, the Sirius shippers are going to love this chapter.

Chapter 18

I stood up and walked over to him. As usual, he looked perfect. But he was staring at me, blankly. A look that he had mastered for a long time exclusively for his relatives and I absolutely hated that look. It pained me to see him like this, cold and emotionless. Whenever a problem would arise in our group, a fight maybe. Remus and I would sort it out quickly, he was forgiving. He hardly held a grudge. Peter and I never fought. James and I eventually would work it out because we never stayed mad at each other. But Sirius, however. Sirius was a whole other problem.

Sirius was the kind of person who hardly let anyone in, of course if I had grown up in a place where I was treated like I was a mistake, I would act the same way too. To me, Sirius Black was always wearing a mask. To the students, he was the ultimate bad boy - the one everyone either wanted to be, or wanted to be with. To the teachers? he was a troublemaker. But to us? The people who actually saw him? Sirius Black was hurt. How did he mask his pain? By acting like he didn't care. The best way to describe him is by an expression I had once heard: Either be a wolf or get eaten by wolves.

I could only imagine how painful it was to hear one of your only friends tell you that you meant nothing to them.

I fumbled with my hands, "Sirius, I- we need to talk." I said, earnestly.

He raised a brow and crossed his arms nonchalantly, "What is there to talk about?" Sirius asked, coolly.

There it was. His 'I don't care about anything attitude' with also a little bit of 'why are you even talking to me' - the same attitude I received when I first became friends with everybody. It was the first clue that he was shutting me out. James cleared his throat and somehow got the profound idea that Sirius and I needed to talk because he stood up and said, "Well, I'm going to go explain everything to Remus and Peter. You can deal with him." He gave me a thumbs up as he walked up the stairs.

I took in a deep breathe and looked at the ground, I had planned out what I wanted to say to him. I was in control.

"Sirius, I- what you thought happened. Was not what really happened." I said, hoping that made sense. It didn't.

His face contorted to a look of confusion, "What do you mean?"

Like a kettle blowing off steam, I said all too quickly: "Sirius I didn't do anything it was Kenneth he did something to ruin my friendship with everyone because he's an evil little cockroach and I swear I didn't say those things and I didn't mean any of it I swear I don't know if you'll believe me or not but also Kenneth preformed a memory charm on me to make me forget. I would never say that you guys are my best friends in this entire world and I love all of you - I don't hate anyone - I'm innocent, I swear!"

"Kenneth did something to you? If he performed a memory charm, how do you know?" He said suspiciously, his eyes narrowing.

I looked up at him, "Well, so - I went outside and I saw the grey lady who somehow knew about my bruised hand," I lifted up my hand.

His eyeballs almost shot out of his skull and instinctively grabbed my hand, scanning it. "What the- Merlin, Winnie- how'd you manage to do that? Can you go one day without hurting yourself?" He asked, concerned.

I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly, "That's not the point - The grey lady saw me and Kenneth fighting, she said she heard running and it was me. Kenneth was chasing after me, then we started to fight. I don't know about what, though. I slapped him and he took out his wand and at the same time I punched him. Which I guess is why the memory charm wasn't perfect. I could still remember bits and pieces." I said, honestly.

His eyes trailed back up to my face, "What do you remember?" his voice somber.

I shut my eyes for a moment, trying to see if there was anything else. Another flaw in his plan, but it was only the three things that I could remember. A feeling of utter hopelessness, a feeling of complete rage and a flash of Kenneth's face. I told Sirius just that.

He gently let go of my hand, "Promise me, promise me you're telling the truth." he said, almost pleading.

I didn't hesitate in complying, "I promise you that I'm telling you the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Kenneth, has always wanted revenge on me. I should have known he would've done something. But, I - I don't know, I don't think he could have managed that alone."

Sirius bit his lip, "D'you reckon he had an accomplice? But you're right, he wouldn't do something like this alone. Especially considering the fact that his father works in the ministry. He would never do anything to jeopardise his family's reputation." he said, logically.

Like a kettle on a heater, I exploded with steam. "Screw him and his stupid family's reputation. I hope the earth opens up and swallows him, but you know what I don't think the earth would want him so it would probably un-swallow him and leave him to die on the worst place on Earth where he'll get eaten by crows and bugs. Good! He deserves it. He ruined Ravenclaw with his face." I crossed my arms, annoyed.

A moment later I realised how fast I was speaking and how he probably didn't understand a word of what I was saying. I felt my face burn hot. My eyes flashed up to his. I was surprised when I heard his familiar chuckle, I looked up and saw his grey eyes shining with amusement.

I gaped at him, dumbly. "You- you're not mad?"

Sirius threw his head back in laughter, "Honestly? I knew something was wrong with you the second you walked into the great hall, Winnie. You were crying for Godric's sake, you never cry like that. I suspected you were under something - I just didn't know how long you were under that something. Also, you're right. He did ruin Ravenclaw." He said, a small smile playing on his lips.

I got on my tip-toes and hugged him, he wrapped his hand around my waist and my shoulder. It was like hugging a toaster. Warm. I could almost fist pump the air out of happiness. I was so shocked, I didn't expect him to believe me. But he did and I was so happy. There was only a few things I hated in this world: losing my friends and family, crows and Kenneth. Of course those are only some of the things because I couldn't remember all of them right this moment.

"I'm so sorry," I mumbled, still stuck in his embrace.

He answered me when he pulled away a moment later, "For what, Dot? You have nothing to be sorry for. I doubted you at first but then I came to my senses. I knew - I know that you wouldn't do that. Kenneth, however. Consider him dead." he said, twirling a strand of my curly hair.

I dipped my head, a bit embarrassed actually. "Okay," I laughed awkwardly. "So I take it the dream team is back on?" I said, a smile growing on my lips.

He chuckled, rolling up his sleeves. "I had no idea that the dream team was off." he said, grinning.

"So, what are we going to do? Go out there and kill Kenneth? I don't want him to know that I know. I do want to get revenge but in a more subtle way." I said, leaning against the wall.

Sirius raised his brow at me, shock splattered across his features. "Really? Subtlety is not really your forte. Remember when I told you to-"

I cut him off by putting my hand on his mouth, "Details of my past do not interest me. Stop living in the past, Sirius Orion Black. This is the present! We shall move on and we shall prevail. Also, that story is awful. Never ever speak of it again." I said, removing my hand.

He grinned, "Is it really because I remember-"

I cut him off once again, "Quiet child, the adults are trying to think here." I said, rubbing my temples and pretending to be thinking of a master plan.

His eyes darted around the empty room, "There's no one in here besides you and me, Winnie."

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever that's besides the point," we both laughed an I decided to ask, "So, are we okay? I just don't want to fight with my best friend anymore." I said, giving a small smile.

He reciprocated the smile with ease, "Yeah, we're okay. If Kenneth thought that this was enough to break what we have, he was wrong." his eyes widened and he cleared his throat, "I don't mean what we have as in relationship wise - I mean," He furrowed his brows, like he was deciding what he was going to say. "No, I mean eh- you're important to me."

I beamed. I wasn't sure if it was because he was acting all flustered (which was was hilarious by the way) or because it was the fact that he admitted that I was important to him. Like I said, he wasn't a very emotional guy - so when he said things like that to me, to any of of the marauders. You knew he was being truthful.

I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, "Thanks Padfoot, I think that's the first time I've ever heard you say that." I couldn't help my smile. I wondered how many girls would have loved to hear those words coming out of his lips.

He hovered above me, pouting. "That's not true, I always tell you how great you are. The other day I told you you were great at transfiguration."

"You were being sarcastic! I tried to do the spell to change the flower to a duck and it became a lizard, remember?" I said, scrunching up my nose in disgust as I remembered how the lizard looked like, it wasn't nice.

He laughed huskily and I realised how close he was standing, he was literally towering over me. I felt myself freeze, like the engines in my body stopped working. I could hear his breathing from how close he was. I could see the slight freckles that were splattered across his nose. I could see the scar he had on the left side of his face where he had fallen from a tree in second year. I could see everything. I could feel his gaze on me - deciphering my every move, observing my face. I wondered if he knew what I was thinking, it felt like he did.

"Kenneth." I blurted out.

Of all the names I could have said right now I had to mention him. There was a million words in the dictionary, a million things I could have said. But nope, I had to say Kenneth.

He immediately backed off, "What about Kenneth?" he said, searching my eyes.

I coughed, "What- what are we going to do about him?"

He traced his lip with his finger, deep in thought. "There's not much we can do, the christmas holidays are in less than a week. But we'll all meet up, of course. We can figure something out, then."

Just like that a lightbulb went off in my head, "Sirius, I have an idea." I grinned madly.

* * *

Remus's eyes widened, "You want to do what?! Winnie are you insane? Am I the only one questioning her sanity right now?" he said, eyes darting around the room trying to see if he was the only one who thought my plan was a bad idea.

James scoffed, "What sanity?" he asked, making everyone laugh - including myself.

We had stayed up all night, Sirius and I. Coming up with a plan that was going to crush Kenneth. Maybe crush was a bit too harsh - we were going to disintegrate Kenneth. Yeah, that sounded better. After thoroughly explaining what had happened to me to Remus and Peter, we all decided to pretend it never happened. Remus of course apologised thirty million times and even wrote me a sorry letter, all in one day. I didn't know how he had time to do that.

My plan of course was as devious as me, if I was devious. Which I doubted. The plan was to act like nothing had happened, we would walk around and it would seem like another day. Kenneth would start to worry, why was everyone acting like this? Why were the marauders suddenly back together? Of course, we had to convince everybody that the things I said was an elaborate prank - but they'd believe it, of course they would. Kenneth would start to go insane, did he actually do something to me? Was he imagining things? Eventually he would go insane and be sent to St. Mungo's psychiatric ward.

I grinned, "You know what they say, scratch my back and I'll murder your family." I said, changing my eyes to my yellow cheetah eyes just to emphasise the crazy glint in my eyes.

Remus looked at me concerned, "That's not what anyone says. That analogy isn't just misused, it doesn't make sense." throwing his hands up in desperation, "Is anyone here listening to what she's saying?"

Sirius cackled, "I actually think it's a pretty good idea. Harmless too, I mean what's he going to lose? Other than his sanity, of course." he said, twirling a ball in his hand.

James shrugged, "Why not? If it doesn't work we'll just let him get a taste of Winnie's bat bogey hex." He said, looking at me and laughing.

Peter shuddered, "I never want to experience that. Fred Griggins said he still has nightmares because of you, Winnie."

I slammed my hand down on the desk, making everyone jump up. "Fred Griggins is a conniving snake. First he 'accidentally' gets into the girl's bathroom. Which by the way doesn't make sense! Who accidentally enters the bathroom - three times!? Then he thinks it's funny to try and kiss girls without permission! Who does he think he is? Going around kissing girls without consent? Stupid boy. I hate boys."

They all looked at me like I had just landed from another planet, "Winnie, what do you think _we_ are?" James asked, raising his forehead.

I batted my hand as if batting his comment away, "I meant that you're not as stupid as Fred Griggins. You're all stupid but you're not as stupid, get it?"

Sirius snickered, "Thanks, that's probably the nicest thing you've ever said to us."

Remus sighed and I knew that he had given in, "So you guys are really going to do it then? Fine, okay. I guess he kind of does deserve it. But when?"

I glanced up, "After the holidays."

Peter decided to speak up, "Speaking of the holidays what are your plans for christmas guys?"

Thats when I decided to zone out, not because I didn't care about anyone's christmas plans. But because I felt like I really needed to step back and appreciate everything. Appreciate the fact that I had my friends, the people I loved and trusted most in this world. Losing them was like losing a part of me, even though we had our differences. We made it work and I never wanted to lose them.

I realised at that moment I didn't want to have the best year ever. I was making unnecessary expectations that I wouldn't bother reaching anyway. What I really wanted was to have a good time. I wanted to be with my friends. I wanted to enjoy every moment with them because that could disappear, dark times were ahead of us and I didn't want to waste my life.

I wanted to live.


	20. Chapter 19

**Hey everybody! I hope you're all having a wonderful day. Stay awesome. Love you.**

 **Also I don't own Harry Potter.**

Chapter 19

I am not a morning person. I have never been and I don't intend to be. There are only two reasons for why I wake up early and one of them is school, the other one was Christmas. The boys however (not counting Remus of course!) were not like me. They didn't wake up early regardless of what festivities were occurring. Which was understandable, yet annoying.

"Wake up! wake up!" I said loudly as I swung open the door to the room.

Remus was already awake and seemed to be in high spirits, he smiled at me as I barged in. I did this every year, yet they never seemed to learn. I was carrying with me a wooden spoon and a pot. Luckily all their beds were near each other, so I didn't have to go to each bed individually and disturb their slumber. Lucky me!

Clang! the wooden spoon hit the pot and James clutched the pillow and covered his ears, muttering curse words at me. James was the easiest to wake due to the fact he was a light sleeper. Peter and Sirius however were intensely deep sleepers. How were they intensely deep sleepers? Let's just say that if there was a war going on and they were asleep? They would stay asleep. In fact, they would probably get killed in their sleep.

"Shame on you James Potter! That foul language is not tolerated today!" I said, in faux anger as I sat down on the edge of his bed.

James sat up and fumbled around looking for his glasses, today his hair was messier than usual which was strange because I didn't think that was even possible. He ran a hand through his hair, looking frustrated and annoyed.

"Do you have to do this every year, Winnie?" He said, sighing.

I laughed and swiftly grabbed his shirt which was on the floor, "You should know by now that I stick with tradition, Prongs." I glanced at Remus, "Now, Remus and I expect to see all of you awake in ten minutes. Wake them up, Jamesy. Whatever it takes!" I said and then proceeded to grab Remus so we could go wait in the common room.

I could almost feel James rolling his eyes at me, "Don't call me Jamesy!" he grumbled, throwing a pillow at me.

Deciding it was the perfect time to send Christmas letters to my family, I said goodbye to Remus so I could go to the Owlery. I wish I hadn't, the moment I walked in - all eyes were on me, it was me. The traitor, the bitch, etc. The past days I had been experiencing the worst days of my life, not only where people treating me badly. They weren't even trying to hide it, people I had once considered friends - were now gossiping about me and glaring at me at every chance.

"Poor Sirius, he had no idea that his friend was actually the equivalent of a banshee." one said to her friend, giggling while she was eyeing me. I rolled my eyes at her childish ways and quickly gave my owl the letters. As I left I heard a sentence that almost made me want to explode.

"I never liked her anyway." said Agnes Jeffleberg. A Hufflepuff who I had sat with in Divination for two years, I always thought that she was a sweet girl. I guess not.

But I wasn't going to let them ruin my mood. Today was a good day and they were not going to ruin that. Christmas was one of the more special holidays for us. The marauders and I had a very special Christmas tradition. During Christmas, normal students would exchange gifts, food and other nice items. But we weren't normal students.

Our tradition was to give each other presents that we would never use. Basically we had one year to buy each other the most useless and pointless thing we could find. It didn't have to be something expensive, it had to be funny and it had to have no purpose at all. You'd assume after five years that we had at least once gotten each other the same present. But no, every year we somehow managed to gift each other the most useless presents we could find.

I heard a loud groan as I opened the door to the common room, letting light in. "Why are the lights still on? Somebody turn off the lights and also, why the bloody hell am I awake at this ungodly hour?" Sirius said as he walked down the stairs and collapsed on the couch.

Remus laughed at him, "The lights aren't on - that's the sun, mate."

Sirius sat up, scowling. "Well somebody turn the sun off then!" You could obviously tell that he was a early riser and loved to wake up in the morning. Not.

I rolled my eyes at him, "Sirius, it's Christmas! why are you such a grinch! This is supposed to be a happy day. With you know - happiness?"

Sirius turned to me with and lazily raised a brow, "Christmas? Again?" he paused. "What's a grinch?"

Remus scoffed and turned to me, shaking his head in shame. "Wizards." he laughed, "He's a furry green thing that stole christmas because he hates happiness and cheerfulness."

Sirius's eyes widened, "Really? Did they catch him? The muggle world is more interesting than I thought." he said, eagerly. "James! c'mere and listen to this!"

I laughed, "Remus failed to mention that the Grinch is a fictional character. He doesn't exist - but he does exist in the wizarding world. In fact, he's sitting here today. His name is Sirius Black!"I said, jabbing him with my elbow.

James and Peter reluctantly walked down the stairs, looking like death itself. Actually they weren't even walking, they were slumping down the stairs. Peter rubbed his eyes as he walked down the stairs, he almost tripped a few times too. Which was strange because the stairs didn't have that many steps. I bounced up from the couch and walked over to the stairs to greet my lazy friends.

"Good morning sunshines!" I grinned at them. "Are you ready to have a fun, amazing day?"

Their only response was a glare.

Remus dragged me away from the stairs, "I don't think you should be standing too close to them." he pretended to whisper, "They might eat you." he said making me laugh.

I shook my head at them, "You guys are so dramatic! It's only ten in the morning not three in the morning." I then pointed to the Christmas tree, "Aren't you going to at least open your presents?"

That sentence alone changed their entire mood, from sleepy and lazy to eager and suddenly full of energy. The idiots probably forgot that the best part of Christmas was the presents of course! James, Sirius and Peter rushed to the Christmas tree and began to fumble and throw around the neatly wrapped presents under the tree.

I laughed at their childish antics and threw an arm around Remus's shoulders, "Look at the kids - they look so happy! we did a great job at raising them didn't we?" I said sarcastically.

Remus chuckled, "I remember when we were their age." he said playing along.

Something that really made me laugh was the fact that people thought that Remus was an uptight nerd, people were always wondering how we were friends with him. The truth was that Remus was just like us, but in a more subtle way and with boundaries. He was witty and had a sharp tongue that he usually kept hidden. In a way, I felt like Remus helped keep us grounded and he made us see things clearly. Without him we would be either expelled or worse - dead.

"Hey - who got me these two sticks for Christmas?" Sirius said, looking confused as he took out the present I got him. Chopsticks. I laughed and raised my hand up, "I did, they're chopsticks. You use them to eat asian cuisine."

Sirius furrowed his brows together, "Is there any asian cuisine available in the wizarding world?" he began to use the chopsticks as drum sticks and started drumming on his leg.

I shrugged, "Nope! But there is in the muggle world. I'll take you sometime." I smiled but then stopped, "Oh no - I just failed. My present does have a purpose."

Sirius shrugged, "Not in the wizarding world,"

James took a big box from under the tree, shook it and then read the back of the box. "Hey Winnie- this is for you." He said and proceeded to throw the box at me, which I somehow caught.

I looked at the red box, there wasn't anything on there except my name. I opened it and found a piece of paper, covered by styrofoam. A lot of it, I grabbed the paper, I would be reading that later "Oh my God, someone gave me a box of styrofoam!" I laughed.

They all looked at each other, bemused expressions on their faces. "Who was it?" I asked, glancing at them.

James shrugged, "Not me." He glanced at Sirius, "Was it you, mate?"

Sirius shook his head, "No, I got you cat hairs as your present." he laughed to himself. "There's so much you could knit a sweater with it. It was probably Remus. That's his type - harmless and boring." he teased.

Remus threw a pillow at Sirius's head, "Go stuff it, Black. But no, it wasn't me. My present is actually interesting - it's a book about norse gods. In their language!" he looked at Sirius's blank stare. "The language is extinct." he said as if it was obvious. "Was it you Pete?"

Peter shook his head. That was strange, not just weird. Strange. I doubted it was Mum or dad, they would always write their names on a card. Greg usually sent me presents covered with the Chudley Cannons wrapping paper so it was always easy to distinguish between his presents and others. But no, this was a red box with nothing but styrofoam and a piece of paper.

I set the box down neatly and sat down, unfolding the small piece of paper. There seemed to be a sentence, I assumed it said something like 'Merry Christmas' or 'Happy holidays'. That wasn't the case.

"I'm so sorry Winnie - Kenneth." I said out loud for the rest of them to hear, my heart felt like it was going to explode.

I stared at the piece of paper, it was like feeling a thousand emotions all at once and then nothing at all. It was like my body, mind and soul went into shock and now I couldn't feel anything. This piece of paper made everything more confusing than it already was. Why was he apologising? He had already succeeded in getting what he wanted. What more could he possibly want?

They all jumped up from their seats as if I had just announced war.

James grabbed the piece of paper from my hand, inspecting it like it was a murder weapon. "This doesn't make sense - why would he do this? Does he feel guilty or something?"

Remus used his wand on the paper to see if there was any hidden messages, something that would explain the cryptic note. But no, nothing. It just made no sense to me. Why would he suddenly care after everything he did?

My eyes widened, "He did it on purpose." I said, making everyone turn and look at me. "He didn't obliviate me properly - on purpose."

Sirius narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean? That makes no sense. Why would he want to get caught?" he asked, nobody in particular.

"Maybe he had a moment of weakness." Peter spoke up, surprising us all. "I- I mean you two do have history together what if he felt guilty..I could be wrong though." he said and laughed awkwardly.

Remus nodded, "That could be true, I mean you were together for a year - was it?"

James didn't look convinced, "No, he was and always will be a lying prick. I don't buy in to his sorry act, if he ever felt something towards her he wouldn't have done anything to her in the first place." he said, crossing his arms.

Sirius cleared his throat to get our attention, "I have a theory. Let's say that he didn't do this alone - I mean have you seen Kenneth? He's not capable of something like this alone. He must have had some help." His eyes trailed to me, "Winnie who hates you? Who utterly despises your existence?"

I laughed scornfully, "Every student in Hogwarts maybe?"

I felt completely empty inside. I was just so confused and tired. Tired of all the drama. Every time something good happened in my life, it would disappear. Every time something got clear, it would get confusing again. It was like a never-ending circle. I wanted to be done with Kenneth. I wanted everyone to stop treating me like I was nothing. I wanted to clear my head and to just stop being Winnie Powers. I felt like I was being suffocated and I needed to breathe.

I stood up, "You guys I'm going to go outside - I need some fresh air." I said plastering on a fake smile.

James grabbed my arm, gently. "But - But you love Christmas, don't you want to see what you got?" I could almost hear him begging me to stay.

For a second there I forgot about the fact that it was Christmas. The fun, the spirit - it was all gone. I didn't feel like opening presents, I didn't feel like singing Christmas songs. I didn't feel like doing anything at all. All I knew was that I just couldn't stay here anymore, I needed to go where I could get some space.

I forced out a laugh which I hoped sounded genuine, "No, it's fine. Honestly, you guys go unwrap your presents. You better tell me what you get." I said, smiling.

Remus put a hand on my shoulder, "Winnie, are you okay?" He whispered, studying my face.

"I'm fine, Lupin. I just need to take a break." I said honestly.

He nodded understandingly, "Okay, then I'm coming with you." He stopped me before I could refuse, "I don't care what you're going to say. I'm coming with you."

Once outside, I lay down on the bench and shut my eyes, I could feel the weight shift in the bench so I knew Remus had sat next to me. It was such a beautiful day outside, the snow was perfectly laid out - all nice and cold. It would have been a perfect day for a snow ball fight, if only my mood wasn't so awful.

"It wasn't like this last year." I said, my eyes still shut. "It wasn't so dramatic. What the hell happened?"

Remus laughed, "It was dramatic - it just wasn't dramatic for you." he said wisely.

My eyes fluttered open and I sat up, "Remus, everyone in school hates me." I said blankly as if stating the weather.

He looked at me, eyebrows drawn in confusion. "Wait, what? No - are you serious?"

I laughed bitterly, running a hand through my hair. "Everyone thinks I'm a traitor - everywhere I go, there's at least one person gossiping about me. It's been happening for days - I can't handle it, Moony. I can't. Everyone thinks I betrayed you guys. Then there's Kenneth, who doesn't stop..I don't know - existing? He keeps ruining everything. I'm so sick of it. I'm sick of this. I can't do this anymore." I rambled, I couldn't control my self. It was like my mouth was on vent mode and I couldn't shut it off.

Remus gave me a sympathetic look, "Winnie, why- why haven't you told us this before?" he said, sighing.

I shrugged, "I don't know. I have no idea what I'm doing. I don't know what's happening to me, Moony." I said avoiding his concerned gaze. The best way I could describe how I was feeling was like digging a hole, the deeper I got - the harder it was to see the light.

Remus shook his head and grabbed my shoulders, making me look at him. "Winnie you and I both know what's happening to you and I'm not going to allow it. This happened once to you and it's not going to happen again. You helped me when I had nothing and now I'm going to help you, you just have to let us in - let me in. We're going to get through this, alright?"

What he meant by 'this happened once to you' made me almost want to laugh. He was referring to the period of depression I underwent after Kenneth and I had split. When I found that Kenneth cheated on me. Remus's words gave me hope, kind of like a beacon of light in the gloomy darkness that I was currently living in. Okay, that was a bit dramatic. But I didn't need hope. Hope wasn't going to do me any good, I needed a solution and I needed it now. I couldn't wait after the christmas holidays - I needed answers. I needed to know why Kenneth did what he did, I needed to convince everyone that I wasn't the spawn of Satan - I needed to get my life back, goddammit.

I looked up at Remus, "I need to talk to Kenneth."


	21. Chapter 20

**Just a warning. This chapter is going to BLOW YOUR MIND. I hope.**

Chapter 20

"Kenneth, we need to talk." I said crossing my arms at him.

His eyes widened and he looked for an escape route. Not going to happen, I stood firmly and made sure that he knew that I was not going anywhere. His eyes - once, my favourite shade of blue darted around the almost empty hallway and he finally nodded, giving up and giving in. Good. I glanced at his face where a blue bruise sat on his jaw.

"Fine, but not here." he said and ushered towards an empty potions room.

He sighed and turned to me, "I knew you'd come eventually. First, I know you're dying to know why I didn't erase your memories." he said, as if reading my mind.

I raised my eyebrows at him, but nodded. "Yes, actually. It- you nothing makes sense! You say you hate me and you make everyone hate me especially my friends and then all of a sudden you're sorry? That doesn't make any sense and you better answer me because it's literally taking everything in me right now not to murder you." I said, jabbing him in the chest with my finger.

He ran a hand through his golden hair, "Just, wait. I- it wasn't only me okay and it wasn't my idea. He made it seem like he wasn't going to do anything major and then he gave me this - I don't know some weird potion that Crabbe gave me and I don't know how to explain it but I wasn't me, it was insane. Like some weird dark magic then I was hallucinating and it - the potion made me feel everything. But not normally, like intensely. Anger turned into rage, dislike turned into hate."

As if life couldn't have gotten any more confusing and overwhelming.

"I- I need to sit down," I muttered to myself mostly and sat down on one of the chairs, I shut my eyes for a moment before taking a deep breathe and asking: "Okay, first of all. Who is this person?"

Kenneth stood opposite me, leaning on the wall. "Mulciber. But Avery and Crabbe were there too. Look, I was sitting next to him in Potions and then he started to talk about you - about us and then he said that he was planning to do a harmless prank something on you. So I agreed, I mean. I was still angry at you back then-"

Of course it would be Avery, how could I not have thought about that? He should have been my number one suspect - he hated my guts and he had promised that he would get me back. Why hadn't I taken him seriously? I realized that Kenneth said 'about us' as if we were still together which made my heart pang for a moment.

I cut him off, "So what you're not angry at me now?" I scoffed, "What? You suddenly _care_ about me?"

He exhaled and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Winnie - I feel awful. I didn't mean to hurt you - I didn't intend on it, I promise. I know you won't believe me but it's the truth. Look, just let me continue. It'll make sense if I do."

I don't know why but I agreed.

He nodded at me in thanks, "Alright so, we were on the abandoned floor. Mulciber tells me to come to this room and I do, Avery and Crabbe are there too. Crabbe gives me the potion and I thought it was a drink, I mean everyone knows that Slytherins like to party. Anyway, so it was like - I don't know how to explain it. I wanted to hurt everyone, I wanted to kill - it was scary. It was like I transformed into a monster. So, Mulciber brings you in and you wake up hours later because Crabbe gave you a sleeping potion by accident. So, you freak out and I wanted to," he took a deep breathe, "I wanted to hurt you. I wanted you to know how loneliness felt like. I wanted you to suffer."

I gulped, it was scary hearing him say things like that. "Kenneth, what the hell-"

He cut me off, "Wait- let me continue, please. I performed a spell on you, Imperio. I don't know if you've heard of it, it basically allows a user to control another person. Like a puppet. I made you go and ruin the friendship between you and the boys. Slowly, I started to gain conciousness I guess. Mulciber and Avery were having a laugh- Winnie, you have no idea how delusion they are. Anyway, you came back crying and I lifted the spell and you ran. I ran after you so I could explain and you slapped me. Mulciber and Avery were going to do something to you- so I told them that I would obliviate you so you could never know what happened. They loved the idea of you suffering in the dark, basically. So I did, I didn't do it right though - so you could know. Then you punched me."

I didn't want to believe it - but it made sense. I wasn't sure if I believed him because I wanted to believe that there was a part of him that wasn't as evil as I always thought or simply because I wanted an answer. The only problem was that I had no way of knowing if this was a lie or not. But what I couldn't really get out of my mind was how twisted Mulciber and Avery were, I had known that they were mad - but no, this was on a whole other level. The thought that they gained pleasure from seeing people suffer. That was -They were psychotic.

I bit my lip, "Ken, I- I don't know what to believe." I saw a smile start to grown on his face. "What is it?" I asked, crossing my arms.

He laughed, shaking his head. "No - it's nothing. You just called me Ken," He smiled lopsidedly.

I could feel my breathing hitch in my throat. I instinctively called him Ken, a nickname I made for him when we were dating. I could almost feel the nostalgia creeping up on me. No, this was not the time.

I cleared my throat and avoided his gaze, "Kenneth - stop, How can I trust you? I mean, I trusted you once and look where that got me." I said bitterly, which helped me return to reality.

"Winnie, that was a mistake. I'm not the person I was a year ago, I've changed. You can trust me." he said, walking over to me.

I laughed, unimpressed. These were the words every single male has uttered at least once in their lives. "Yeah, right. Okay. Can you undo the spell? Can you bring back my memories?"

He shook his head, sadly. "Unfortunately no, but Winnie I am telling the truth. I swear it, ask me anything about that night. Anything at all."

I racked through my brain trying to come up with something to ask, "Fine, what was Avery doing there? Mulciber I get. But Avery?" I narrowed my eyes at him in suspicion.

Kenneth laughed, "How ironic, you asked him the same question there. He said that he just came because he likes these kind of things. I reckon he gets a kick out of watching people suffer Also, the fact that you're a muggleborn made it all the better for him." He tilted his head at me, "Winnie, come on. It makes sense. You know it does, what would I achieve from lying? You punched me, I have the bruise to show that. I told you you were on the abandoned floor, I explained everything. Why is it so hard to believe that I'm not a bad person?"

"Because I don't want to get hurt." I said impetuously. I almost slapped myself when I realised that I just told him the truth.

He seemed shocked at my response, "W-what?" he said, gaping a little bit.

"I don't want to trust you. Because. I. Don't. Want. To. Get. Hurt. Again." I studied my hands, "It's better to hate you than to trust you." I said, quietly.

Kenneth tried to come near me but I moved away, "Winnie- I'm, I'm not going to hurt you." He sighed, exasperated. "You don't have to trust me. But you have to believe me. I'm telling you the truth."

The way he was acting, the way he was talking. I somehow believed him. I knew that I was jus setting myself up for trouble, but I did. I wanted to. But I wasn't going to let him know that, obviously.

I crossed my arms, "Say I believe you. Say that you're telling the truth, what do I do now? What am I supposed to do now?" I was asking him this question because I honestly had no idea what I was doing.

He sighed, shrugging. "I don't know but I do know this. Mulciber can't know that you know the truth. Winnie, he's dangerous. I suspect that he's already signed up to be a death eater. You know what he and his friends did to Mary McDonald." he said making me shudder internally.

I didn't understand how pranks here and there could result in such disastrous events. I never noticed how serious everything really was, I was literally playing with fire without even realising it. It was scary to think that Hogwarts housed people like him - future murderers and psychos-to-be.

I nodded, "I realised that part." I started to laugh, making him tilt his head questioningly, "If you told me a week ago that I'd be talking to you I wouldn't have believed it."

Kenneth grimaced, "You - em hate me that much?" he said, sounding a bit hurt.

I didn't want to respond because I wasn't sure myself. Did I hate him? Did I care about him? I wasn't sure. I didn't know what to say to him, I didn't know what to say at all.

I coughed, rubbing my lip awkwardly. "Kenneth, I have to go. Herbology starts in five minutes and I can't be late."

He forced out a laugh, "Yeah, yeah sure. Right." He said, moving from the door so I could leave.

Oh, how was I going to explain this to the boys.

* * *

I gripped my bag to keep it from sliding off my shoulders, I could faintly see the boys from where I was standing. They were sitting under the tree near the lake and talking. I had no idea how I was going to explain everything that I had figured out today and I had no idea what they're reactions would be like. I decided not to break the news to them right away - or was that too suspicious? Could I even be suspicious? I shook my head and batted the thoughts in my head away as I approached the boys. I nodded in greeting and they all nodded back, but then freturned to focusing on James who was in the middle of a story.

"Then, she looked over at me and smiled. Yeah, that's right she smiled." James, said running a hand through his hair looking dazed. I assumed he was talking about Lily Evans, who surprisingly - I hadn't seen in a while. Or Mary or Marlene.

Remus raised his eyebrows, but didn't look convinced. "Oh, is that right, James?" he said a small smirk on his face.

Sirius rolled his eyes and prodded James with his elbow, "Stop lying to them Prongs, she wasn't smiling at you - she was smiling at Dorcas, who happened to be standing right next to you." he said, in a know-it-all voice.

Remus chuckled, "Now that makes more sense, thank you Sirius." He said, pointing at him with his pen.

"Yeah, well I had the pleasure of seeing her smile - it was like looking at the moon, I tell you. She looked stunning - all beautiful and glow-y. I'm going to marry her one day, I know it." He said, leaning back into the tree looking happy.

Sirius glanced at me as if saying 'what the hell' with his eyes, I laughed. "Mate, that wasn't glow- that was sweat. It was hot outside." Sirius said, making all of us snicker.

James pulled out strands of the grass and threw it at Sirius, "Oi could you shut up and stop ruining my life for a minute?" He said, looking like an annoyed five year old if you ask me.

Peter threw a Bertie's Bot every flavour bean in his mouth and then spat it out in disgust a second later, making us all laugh. "Egh- I got vomit." He said, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

Sirius laughed and clamped Peter in his back, making him stumble forward. "Wormtail, I can honestly and truthfully say that you are an absolute laugh." he said, grinning.

James's eyes turned to me and flashed curiously, "You know who's not being an absolute laugh, today?" He said, turning to me and raising a brow, suspiciously. Damn, he noticed. "Whats wrong with you?" He said, flicking pieces of grass at me.

I wasn't going to tell them today, especially not when everyone was in such a good mood. I wasn't planning on being that person who always bothers everyone with their problems. There was a time and place for serious conversations and this was definitely not it.

I shrugged, "Nothing is wrong with me, I'm super good. Super great." I said, glancing at Remus. "What are you writing there, Lupin?" I asked hoping that would direct their attention from me.

James glanced at Remus, "Yeah, what'dyou got there Moony?"

Sirius leaned over to try and read what he was writing but Remus quickly hid the notebook and shoved him away, making us all a lot more curious than we were before. James locked gazes with Sirius who nodded and proceeded to distract Remus, James then whispered something to Peter who nodded and tried to act nonchalant before he swiped Remus's notebook from under him. I raised my eyebrows at them, slightly impressed by the group effort they were putting in. If only they put this much effort in things that actually matter.

Oh no I was beginning to sound like my mother.

"Peter!" He said, growing red from embarrassment or anger - I couldn't tell. "That's private." he said clenching his jaw.

Sirius's eyes widened as he scanned the pages of the notebook, "Remus, you're quite the artist aren't you? Except that you're drawing the same girl over and over again. Who is she?" He said, grinning at him wildly.

My eyebrows rose, Remus liked somebody? Was it national shock Winnie day?That was probably the most shocking thing that I had heard today and I had heard a lot. He never seemed to act like a person in love - by that I meant he didn't act like James. But he never seemed to show interest in anyone.

James jaw almost fell to the ground, "What?! Remus is in love? How is that no one told me? Moony?!" He said taking the notebook from his hands and flipping through the pages.

I curiously leaned over James shoulder to see who he was drawing, I squinted my eyes trying to see if I could recognise her but she didn't look like someone I had ever seen in Hogwarts - or ever, actually. Remus however looked like he was going to die from embarrassment, his face was a bright shade of pink and he was avoiding everyone's gaze and focusing solely on the ground. He held out his hand for his notebook and we reluctantly passed him the book.

Sirius's grey eyes, widened. "Hey - is she that girl, the one you told me about a long time ago. The neighbour?" he asked, a small smile on his face.

Suddenly the engines in my mind started to work again. Of course! In third year Remus told us about his muggle neighbour who was supposedly the nicest person he had ever met before he came to Hogwarts. He never told us anything else about her, but she was the only girl I had ever heard him talk about. Remus ran a hand through his hair and then nodded.

"Alright, fine. Yes, that's her. Her name is Audrey." He said, still red.

Sirius grinned, "So does she know that you like her?" he started to laugh, "It feels like second year all over again."

I scoffed, "Obviously not, he wouldn't be drawing her if he did. I assume that he feels that due to the fact that he's a werewolf that there is no chance of them ever being together." I glanced at Remus, "You will be glad to hear that love is blind, if she likes you - go for it. Regret is for the stupid and you are not stupid."

Remus gulped, "Actually that's exactly it. Look, I don't know if she likes me and I don't want to - I don't want to hurt her. She's a muggle, I mean if she was a witch she would at least somewhat understand. A werewolf and a muggle? That's a horror story come to life." He said, bitterly like he didn't want to admit it.

James gave him a sympathetic look, "C'mon mate, you might as well tell her how you really feel. What are you going to lose?"

Remus pretended to think about it, "Me? I'm not going to lose anything. But she might lose something. Her life."

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Moony, love. You're being too dramatic. I mean, we've all been friends for what five, six years? Have you ever hurt us to the point that we needed to be hospitalised?" He paused for a moment, "Don't answer that."

I bit my tongue to prevent me from laughing, "Remus, come on. You're not going to let your disease stop you from falling in love. She could be the one! Besides, love is blind! When she realises how great you are she'll forget all about the werewolf thing," I said optimistically.

Remus seemed to process what I was saying, I wasn't sure if he was convinced or not. Finally, he looked at me, a faint blush still evident on his face and said: "Do you really think I should? But what if she doesn't see me that way?" he said unsurely.

Peter coughed, "You should at least try, who knows. Maybe she'll think you're brave or something." He turned pink when he realised all of us were looking at him, a bit impressed actually. "I could be wrong though." He said, looking away.

Sirius nodded at Peter, "He's right. Look, I'm an expert when it comes to girls. If she doesn't like you then don't worry. There are many - _many_ fish in the sea. Just catch yourself one."

I scoffed, hitting Sirius with my hand. "Excuse you? We are not _fish_ to be caught. Moony, if you want to know if she likes you - just look at the signs. See how she acts around you, what she says - does she smile or laugh a lot? Does she touch you? You need to start paying attention. You're going home for the holidays right? So you'll see her. Observe and then make your move."

Remus ran a hand through his hair and I knew that we had persuaded him to do it, "Why do I feel like this is going to backfire in my face?" he asked rhetorically.

Trust me, this was nothing compared to what I had learned today.


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

I tapped my quill against the desk, my eyes were focusing solely on the board but I had no idea what was going on. I glanced around the room and noticed that I wasn't the only person who felt that way. History of Magic was probably the most boring subject I had ever encountered in my entire life, not only was the subject dull. The professor that taught it could put the class to sleep in a matter of minutes.

But there was something else occupying my brain - something that was stopping me from paying attention to what was happening around me. It was what Kenneth had revealed to me. I had been having an internal conflict for days. My mind was too busy focusing on what Kenneth had told me and wondering whether to tell the boys or to keep it to myself, to the point where I had forgotten to do three assignments. I had replayed the conversation with Kenneth in my head for days and -

"Winnie could you stop doing that for Merlin's sake!" James said, jabbing me with his arm.

I stopped the tapping and looked at him, "Sorry. Hey James. Imagine this, you have information which you aren't sure is true or not. But you think it's true. Kind of. Should you reveal it to your mother?" I realised a moment later that what I had just said made absolutely no sense at all, whatsoever.

James looked at me weirdly, "What? My mother? Winnie what are you talking about?" he said, doodling on a piece of parchment.

I scratched my cheek, awkwardly. Okay, that wasn't the best analogy I could've used but I wasn't sure how to ask him for advice without revealing to him what I knew.

"Okay, what if you knew something that could change everything? But you're not sure if you should tell someone. Like your mother for example." I said, hoping and praying that he wouldn't become suspicious.

James tapped his quill against his chin, to show that he was thinking. "Hmm, I guess it depends really. You have to really think. Will your mother freak out or not? Will this information hurt her in any way? If not, tell her. If it will. Tell her anyway. Mums hate secrets." He said, nodding sombrely and then went back to doing nothing.

I could have laughed. That conversation had achieved absolutely nothing and that was probably due to the fact that James was literally the worst person to ask for advice on anything. He had his wise moments, but usually he was just as confused about life as I was. I assumed that was one of the reasons why we were best friends.

James glanced at me, briefly before asking. "Why are you asking by the way?"

I racked my brain trying to come up with an answer and quick. "I think Greg is going to quit Quidditch." I blurted out.

James gasped, his eyes wide. "No! No! No, tell me that's not true!" He said, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me. "You better me lying Winnie Erhard Powers!"

Professor Binns was not impressed, "Mr. Plotter kindly release Ms. Prowers so we can get back to the subject. Don't you think learning about Gerald The Grump is more important than your romantic involvement?" He said, floating near us.

I almost choked, "We're not - we're not romantically involved Professor!" I said, loudly making everyone turn around and actually pay attention for once. I turned a bit red and avoided their gaze.

Professor Binns looked appalled, if that was even possible for a ghost. "Ms. Pellton! How dare you raise your voice at me? Do you think this is some sort of loud party classroom? 10 points from Gryffindor for ill-behaviour!"

James laughed, "Whats a loud party classroom? I want to join." He said, making everyone laugh. James embraced the spotlight, grinning as he saw the smiles on everyones faces.

Professor Binns turned a bright shade of red, "Mr. Plopper! How does detention sound to you?" he said, crossing his arms.

James shrugged nonchalantly, "Come on, Professor. At least buy me dinner first." He said, causing an eruption of laughter in the usually dead classroom.

I chuckled, hiding my face but that didn't stop Professor Binns from being angry, "Do you two think this is funny? You are wasting valuable learning time. I'm sure you'll find it very funny when you're scrubbing the bathroom floor with your toothbrushes!" He said, irritated.

I gaped at him, "What that's not fair! I didn't say anything, why am I involved?" I said, glaring at Binns.

James laughed, slipping an arm around my shoulder. "Now, darling. You know what he said. We're in this together baby." he said, making people laugh once more. That arse. He wanted me to be there.

Professor Binns shook his head, "Teenagers. I'll see you two at detention tonight after dinner, Now back to more important topics. Gerald The Grump.." Professor Binns said and began to say something about Gerald The Grump, whoever that was.

Once class was over I grabbed my textbook and began to hit James repeatedly, "You arse, why'd you make me go to detention with you? I need to pack, you know that the holidays are in less than a week!"

James grabbed the textbook before I could hit him again, "Yeah, well so do I! You know what they say. If I'm going down you are going down with me. Besides, detention alone is boring. Sirius isn't there anymore, apparently he's been good lately. Yeah right. So I need you there!"

I threw my hands up, in frustration. "So I have to go with you? Did you forget about Remus or Peter? Also now thanks to you people will assume that we are together! Again! This is fourth year all over again." I said, frowning.

James looked at me sheepishly, "Sorry 'bout that but hey! if you look on the bright side, people are starting to tolerate you again. If they think we're together then you'll be back on everyones love list one more time!" He said optimistically.

I rolled my eyes at his optimism but couldn't help a smile, "Yeah yeah, okay. You better not ditch me at detention, Plopper." I grinned.

He scowled, "Quiet Pellton." he said before he waved goodbye as he headed towards the other direction.

* * *

I knocked on Filch's door, as usual I was always five minutes early to everything. Even if it was something as horrible as detention. The door slid open to reveal Filch's bored face along with his evil cat Mrs. Norris, who hissed at me when she saw me before hiding behind Filch. Filch rolled his eyes at me before sliding back into the room and returning with a toothbrush.

"At least y'had the decency to show up earlier, if only you had the decency to stay out 'er trouble." He grumbled as he handed me the toothbrush reluctantly.

I gave him a sarcastic smile, "Well you can't get everything you want in life."

A loud BOOM! was heard and James's face appeared almost out of the shadows, he looked more messy than usual. His hair was in all directions, his face was covered with dirt and his clothes dishevelled and ripped "I'm here! I'm here - am I late? I'm not late, I'm sure of it. I think." He locked gazes with me, "Hey Winnie."

Filch almost screamed, "What happened 'ter you?!" He said pointing at James.

James laughed, "Oh yeah, that's why I came to get you. Someone is making things explode all around the school and Peeves is helping! They already damaged a lot so you better hurry."

Filch glared at him, disbelief splattered across his face. "This better not be one of 'yer li'l pranks, Potter!"

Another boom was sounded from the other side of the hall, louder than the first one. James jumped up, probably to show fear and feign innocence. How did I know it was them? Because the other day they had the intelligent idea of making fireworks from random things they could find at Hogwarts.

I gasped, hoping it sounded real. "Filch! You're wasting time by just standing here! At least try to stop whoever is doing this before McGonagall finds out. If she knew that you were standing here doing nothing she'll have your head,"

He narrowed his eyes at us suspicously and then said in a loud voice, "You two bet'er stay here! C'mon Mrs. Norris." He said and then ran down the hallway.

I turned around to James and shook my head at him, "Now can you please explain to me why the hell you got me in detention and then decide to get me out? You don't make sense, James Plopper." I said a small smile on my face.

James glanced at his cracked watch, "No time to explain, we have to go." He said and then proceeded to grab my arm and drag me outside to where the whomping willow was. We approached the violent tree and tried to avoid getting cut into pieces, if that was possible. I didn't want to test that theory.

"James what's happening," I said as he proceeded to poke the knot of the tree which automatically paralysed the tree. "James, what's going on and why do you look so messy? Your clothes are ripped-" I stopped myself short when I had realised what happened.

That idiot had gone with Remus to transform, I had forgotten that it was Remus's 'time of the month'. I assumed that the others were there too and James probably purposely got me into detention to keep me busy. The idiot was suddenly smart. You'd think I'd be annoyed at the fact that they didn't let me come with them, but in a way I was kind of relieved. Why? Because I hated blood. When Remus was in wolf form, they would have to fight and there would be so much blood. I couldn't handle blood. The only thing that didn't make sense was why I was here. If he wanted to keep me out of it what was the point of bringing me?

The sight before me explained everything.

Sirius sat on the chair, clutching his bleeding shoulder. Peter sat in the corner, avoiding everyone's gaze and Remus was passed out on the bed, his body covered up in cuts and bruises. My eyes widened and I could've sworn that a small shriek escaped my mouth as I took in everyone's state. James sat down on the dusty couch, running a hand through his hair and then looked at me.

"Yeah, this is why I need you." James laughed, "Can you do something about Padfoot? he's bleeding a lot. We wrapped it up, but I don't know if that actually does anything."

I felt like I was going to vomit, there was blood on the floor and on the bed. I felt like I was going to vomit but I had to pull myself together. I shuddered at the metallic smell in the room and made my way over to the potions cupboard I had installed, especially for moments like this. It would probably have been a good idea if I taught them how to use any of the potions.

I grabbed a bunch of potions and moved over to Sirius who had his eyes closed, "Sirius? Are you - eh - okay?" I said, patting his cheek.

He lazily opened his eyes, "Finally, where have you been?" He whispered. "Win, I have a question - am I dying?" he said and glanced at the blood soaked garment that was supposed to stop the bleeding.

I gulped, not sure how to answer his question. "No - no, you're fine. I think. But you try to stay awake, okay? Focus on me." I said and proceeded to slowly remove the blood-soaked wrap and it took everything in me not to scream, I quickly grabbed my wand and pointed at it before thinking of the spell Vulnera Sanentur. The flow of blood disappeared immediately and the wound began to heal but not completely.

I glanced at the potion I was going to use, essence of dittany. It was extremely painful but excellent at healing. The pain was almost excruciating and some had even died from how painful it was, which was why it wasn't sold excessively and why I had to brew my own.

"Sirius, you might want to hold my hand for this. It's going to be painful." I said and gave him an uneasy smile.

Sirius's eyes widened, "Wait what?" He said and I began to drop a bit of the essence, he immediately clutched my hand and groaned in pain, his body contorted as he shrieked in pain. He was squeezing my hand pretty tightly now, to the point where I felt like he had stopped the blood circulation but I didn't falter, another drop. His other hand balled into a fist as he banged the wall next to him. The wound began to heal and new skin began to wrap itself around the open wound, a green smoke erupted and then it was done.

"Okay, okay, it's over. It's over. The worst is over. You're okay." I said, breathing a sigh of relief. I felt like I was directing the words more to myself than I was to him. He let go of my hand and I immediately scanned him over, "How do you feel? Any pain at all?" I said, grabbing my wand just in case.

He panted, out of breathe. "No - no, I'm fine. That was horrible. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy." he ran a hand through his hair, "Thanks. I'm sure that was equally as terrible for you as it was for me." He said, giving me a sympathetic smile.

I pointed my wand at him and muttered a cleaning spell and in a moment, all the dried blood was gone and all the dirt that was on his hair, face and clothes disappeared. I then turned around and said the same spell while pointing to the room and even at James. As usual, everything became clean, once again. I glanced at Remus who was still asleep but Peter was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Peter?" I said, scanning the room just in case I had missed him.

James looked up, "He left when you were doing the healing thing," He stood up and moved towards Sirius, "You alright, mate?" he said, tilting his head.

Sirius laughed, "Considering that I almost bled to death tonight, yes. I am definitely alright." He looked at me, "Thanks for not letting me die."

I laughed despite how I was feeling, "Well, it can't be The Dream Team if there's only one member. Then it would be The Dream. Which, I guess is not bad. But, it would be better if there was another member," I paused, "What I'm trying to say is, you're welcome."

James clapped his hands, "So, back to reality. How are we going to drag Moony back to the infirmary? I mean carrying a student who looks like hell through the castle isn't exactly normal."

Sirius shrugged, "We could always levitate him?"

I nodded, "Yeah, let's do that. " I said and watched Sirius take out his wand, "Also can you all do me a huge favour and try not to get yourselves killed for once? It's not very fun watching your friends almost die." I said, pointedly. "Especially without me."

James chuckled, "I can't promise you anything."

Sirius muttered the incantation and Remus was now levitating, Sirius guided him around the room with his wand looking like an excited kid.

"Careful! you don't want him to accidentally bump into anything." I said as I watched Sirius move him around, "Sirius! there's a cupboard there can you please stop messing about?" I said, frustratedly.

James looked at me, like I was an alien, "You sound like my mother." He said and walked out of the room making us all follow him as we walked down the creaky stairs, James suddenly stopped half-way making me collide with his back and making Sirius collide with mine. I groaned and hit him in the back.

He turned around and put a finger to his lips, looking wide- eyed. Sirius and I both stared at him with bemused epxressions, until we heard it. There was a faint mumbling and the sound of people climbing up the loud and creaky stairs. "Go back, go back!" he whispered/ushered making us all look at each other in panic as we tried to quietly run back up, which wasn't possible when the stairs were so damn loud.

"Hey d'you hear something?" One of them said, it sounded like a girl but not a voice I recognised. We could hear the shuffling of feet and the other person said something that was incoherent. Suddenly, a bark was heard and I turned around to see that Sirius had turned into his animagus form and had started to bark loudly. This gave us the perfect chance to go back to the room.

"What was that?!" One of them said, not sure which one. "Was that a dog? Merlin, I hate dogs. Get me out of here Louise."

Louise began to climb up the stairs, "No, Claire. We want to see what's up there come on don't be such a baby. I mean, we're probably the first people to discover this passageway - don't you want to see where it leads to?" 'Louise' said, which made Sirius bark louder in attempt to scare them off.

"I'm leaving, Louise!" Said the other one and left. I couldn't hear her anymore so I assumed she was gone.

Louise sighed loudly, "Gosh, fine. I'll come back here another time then." she said and then we could hear her leave.

We all let out sighs of relief, Sirius turned back to a human and started to laugh hysterically. James however was still tense, peering outside the door every five seconds just to make sure that they were really gone. Remus, was still floating in the air unaware of all that was happening around him.

I shook my head, crossing my arms. "Damn it- why are Hogwarts students so damn nosy? Can't they just keep to themselves and hate everyone?"

James cleared his throat, "Okay, I think the coast is clear. But that was close, too close. We need to make sure that no one can get in here - ever. How do you prevent people from entering places?"

Sirius laughed, "Mate, who cares. I mean the holidays are in like - I don't know, two days? Besides you can't stop people from being curious. What are you going to do?" He said, with a nonchalant shrug.

I bit my lip, "Well, you can start a rumour. That the place is insanely haunted and that we, the courageous marauders tried to enter but the shrieks of the devil had frightened us to the point that we could not enter!" I said, dramatically.

Sirius clicked his fingers in agreement, "Yeah, yeah yeah. She's right, the more we exaggerate about how haunted it is. The less people will come. We can say that there are animals living in there. Like a vicious wolf." he said, grinning proudly.

James scoffed, "You're a dog, Padfoot. Not a wolf." he mused.

Sirius raised his forehead at him, as if challenging him. "Says the moose."

I rolled my eyes, "Children please, silence yourselves. We can go over the details later. But can we focus on the matter at hand? We need to sneak Moony in, in the middle of the night. To the infirmary. Where we will have to cross multiple corridors. How are we going to manage that?" I enunciated, as if speaking to children just to annoy them, of course.

They didn't seem to notice.

Sirius then erratically turned to James, a huge grin on his face. "Prongs, do you have the cloak with you?"

James then seemed to catch what he was throwing because a smile grew on his face, "Sirius, mate. You are the smartest person alive. Yeah, I do." He said and took out the blanket from his pocket and threw it over Remus, making him disappear completely. Sirius moved his wand around, making Remus travel as well. We all gave him a weird expression.

"I'm just checking to see if the spell still works," He said, laughing awkwardly.

"Okay, let's do this." I said, feeling a bit giddy. "I don't know why I'm so excited, we've done crazier things."

The boys laughed at my expression and we climbed down the stairs, trying to make sure that Remus wouldn't hit his head on the random pieces of wood sticking out. We were trying to keep ourselves hidden but that wasn't possible when Hogwart's was so bright from inside, as we made our way towards the hallway we could faintly hear a hissing of a cat.

We looked at each other, unsure of what to do. "Run," James said and pointed in another direction. We ran. Remus floated.

Luckily, the direction we were running is was also the direction of the infirmary. We 'carefully' walked in, careful not to disturb the sleeping students. The infirmary itself was dark, but there was a light coming out of the nurse, Madam Pomfrey's room.

"Put him down there, I'll get Pommie." James said and then rushed to the nurse's room.

Sirius let Remus float on top of a random bed before he mumbled the incantation that stopped the spell for working and he flopped down onto the bed in a loud manner, Remus bounced as he crashed on the bed before falling back into his slumber. When Remus wolfed out, he usually fell into this kind of deep sleep that no one could wake him out of.

"Nice going, genius." I said sarcastically, "You almost killed the bloke."

Sirius put his wand away, "Yeah, but he almost killed me. Now we're even." he retorted, "Honestly, I thought the fall would be smoother."

I laughed but then my expression softened, "How about you? Are you okay? I mean, not physically. Mentally. How's it going up there?" I was referring to the fact that he had literally witnessed his friend attempt to kill him, maybe not his friend. But still, it wasn't something you could easily get over in a couple of hours or two.

Sirius shifted his weight from one foot to another, "I don't know, honestly. I'm too tired to feel anything. I'll answer you tomorrow. All I want to do right now is go to sleep."

I nodded understandingly but before I could answer, James and Madam Pomfrey had emerged from the room. Madam Pomfrey shook her head as she examined Remus's bruised and battered body.

"That poor boy, what he goes through every month is what soldiers in the military go through." She said and began pouring a potion over the visible cuts and bruises. "You all must care about him an awful lot."

James laughed, looking down at Remus fondly. "It's not easy, but he's worth it." He said making us all smile.

He was right.


	23. Chapter 22

**Hey everybody! I would just like to say that now that school is starting up again, I might not have that much time to be updating as much as I used to. But I will be updating, I definitely won't be abandoning this story. I feel like I have a moral duty to you all. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and thanks for everything.**

Chapter 22

We were currently on a train back to the Kings Cross Station and I still hadn't told anyone anything and it was driving me insane. I was always looking for the perfect time, the perfect moment to just explain everything. But you know what they say, when you're looking for something you never find it and I could not find it. The only reason I was stressing out so much was because if there was one thing I couldn't do - it was keep secrets. I couldn't keep a secret for the life of me, unless it was absolutely urgent (like finding out your best friend is a werewolf) it was especially hard to keep a secret from your best friends.

"I can't do this anymore!" I said, slamming my hand down on the chair.

Remus sprung out of his seat, almost dropping the cards that he was holding. "What the- are you alright Win?" He said, looking at me weirdly.

Thats when I began to spill everything, it was like I couldn't stop my mouth from talking - it felt like my body was literally forcing me to tell them as if it couldn't take the pressure of holding a secret. Which, knowing me was probably true. Once I had finished talking, they all paused for a moment before shooting at me questions in a rapid manner.

Peter gasped, "Mulciber and Avery performed an unforgivable curse on you?!"

Sirius looked at me like he was talking to Satan himself, "Wait, so what? Kenneth is innocent?" He scoffed, "No, no way. I call bullshit."

James then looked at me, "Hey, is this what you were telling me about the other day?"

Sirius looked at him, curiously. "What'd she tell you?"

I rolled my eyes, "Look! That's not - that's not the point. The point is that I don't know if there is a point at all!" I said, honestly. "To answer all of your questions. Yes, to all."

James then wiped his glasses with the bottom of his shirt, "But it doesn't make sense Winnie. So you say that Kenneth took the potion and then used the imperio curse to make you say all those stuff but then he suddenly somehow realises what he did was wrong? What kind of potion works like that? I don't believe it."

Sirius's eyes flickered between me and James, "Well, The Elixir of Hades if taken in small doses has a very temporary effect on the drinker. The smaller the dose, the less it has an effect on you. But they probably only use the elixir for special occasions, I mean it is extremely rare and hard to find."

We all looked at him suspiciously, he wasn't one for sprouting out random facts - especially when they were related to school.

"The Elixir of Hades? Is that what it's called?" I asked, impressed.

Peter narrowed his eyes as he bit the head off a chocolate frog, "How do you know that?" He asked suspiciously.

He coughed and I could swear that there was a twinge of pink on his face, "Yeah, when I'm at home there's nothing to do so I read. A lot. So, my great aunt was a potioneer, she kept a lot of her work documented. She also wrote about various potions. Including rare ones."

James tilted his head to the side, "Wait, how did you know which potion it was?"

Sirius shrugged, "It was fairly easy to pin-point, it's the only elixir that can cause symptoms like that."

"Sirius, what else can you tell me about this elixir?" I asked, inching towards him suddenly feeling very gravitated towards the subject.

He drummed his fingers against the handrail, "Let's see, well like I said. It's hard to come by, so he must have connections outside because it's been banned from the wizarding world since 1803. It's so rare that you can't even find the ingredients that you need to cook up the potion."

"Okay, what effects does it have on the drinker?" I said, watching him carefully. The only reason I was asking because it was the only way I could verify if Kenneth was telling the truth or not.

Sirius gave me his usual nonchalant look, "Well, the best way I could describe it would be to say that it's like being a human version of a dementor. You become a emotionless, psychotic shell of a human being. Originally, the elixir was supposed to help cure mental illnesses by subduing the drinkers emotions. But, it didn't really work out so well because it ended up enhancing the drinkers emotions to the point where the idea of killing was fine. The crime rates around that time shot up like crazy and nobody realised that there was a link between the elixir and the murderers until they ran a series of tests on the murderers- but by then it was too late and twenty five people had already died."

Remus looked up, "Wait isn't that the massacre of twenty five? But I thought that killers were escaped Azkaban prisoners." He said, looking bemused.

Sirius chuckled, "Not at all, they were ordinary people. But I'm sure that the ministry would never admit to that. They don't want to look like they're bad at their job."

His words confirmed something for me. Kenneth was telling the truth. But that wasn't the part that terrified me, the thing that terrified me. That made me want to curl up in a blanket and never leave my room again. It was that it was all true. All that Kenneth had told me was true. There was a person - there were people who had no problem torturing or killing people. People who weren't even considered adults yet.

"Merlin, this means that what he said was true. You guys, Kenneth was telling the truth. I didn't want to believe it but you just told me exactly what he said." I said, leaning back into my seat.

Sirius gave me a disgusted look, "I still don't believe him." I didn't expect him to.

James gulped, "So, what are you going to do?"

Now that was the golden ticket question. What was Winnie Erhad Powers supposed to do now? If only I knew the answer to that question. Lately I felt like I didn't know the answer to anything at all, I felt like I was on a rollercoaster that once fell down and never seemed to go back up again.

I shrugged, almost emotionlessly. "I don't know what to do honestly."

Remus rubbed his jaw, looking annoyed. "I hate having to say this but it - it makes sense. Especially considering the fact that I've never heard of this elixir in my life - we can assume that he's telling the truth. I hate admitting it but it's logic. That information isn't accessible to anyone. You would only know if you experienced it."

"Hey Winnie, didn't you say that Benjy Fenwick warned you about Mulciber?" Sirius said, randomly.

My eyes widened, oh of course. How could I have forgotten? It was a long time ago but Benjy Fenwick had warned me about Mulciber and his friends. I had specifically remembered him bringing up Mary McDonald and her incident, something I never believed would happen to me. Oh, how wrong I was.

"I don't know, maybe he's had an encounter with him before. I mean, he's a muggleborn, smart and the captain of the quidditch team. Those are three things Slytherins don't like."

James realised who we were talking about then scrunched his nose in annoyance, "Oh, yeah. The captain of Ravenclaw. I said it once and I'm going to say it again. Smug prick."

I threw a chocolatr frog at him, which he dodged. "No he's not, you say that about every quidditch player who's not on your team." I ran a hand through my hair, a bit frustratedly. "But that's not about that! James - Mulciber didn't have any second thoughts about killing me! Don't you realise what's going on?" I said, slamming my hand down on the handrail.

James put his hand on my shoulder, "Winnie, are you okay?"

Sirius's gazed at me, in concern. "Winnie -" he said, almost sensing a rant coming on but I cut him off.

I sighed, "I almost died that day. Mulciber was willing to do that and more. How is that not scary?" I said, rhetorically. "Oh wait, it is scary. No, it's terrifying."

Sirius shook his head, "We're going to get him back. We are. Just you wait, if he thought that he could mess with us than he was wrong." He said, clenching his fist.

I shook my head, "You can't. He can't know that Kenneth let me remember. If he does than he'll kill me for sure." I said sadly. "This is awful." I groaned, tucking my knees under my chin.

James scoffed, "So what are we going to do? Pretend like he didn't ruin your life? Explain to me how that is fair, at all."

Remus looked at me sadly, "Well we can't go up to him and punch him in the nose can we? We need a plan."

Sirius sat up, "Why not? He deserves it. He's not exactly a nice person to anyone."

"Sirius is right, he does deserve it. He deserves it so badly. But Remus is right, we need a plan. I want to get him back, but we cant - not with our usual pranks. If we are going to get revenge on him then it won't be our usual style. It has to be intense, something crazy. Maybe we should drive him insane." I said, without a flicker of humour on my face.

James looked at me strangely, "What are you planning to do?" he said, unsurely. "Insanity isn't usually our forte."

My eyes glanced at Sirius, an idea popped into my head and I said: "Sirius and I will come up with something."

Sirius raised a brow at me, "We will? Since when?"

I shot a look at him, "Aw, come on. You don't want to come up with something to get him back?" I paused, "Besides, you're always the one who's coming up with ideas to get people back. Let's put your plans into action. What do you say?"

Sirius sighed and feigned annoyance, he had his trademark smirk on his face. "Fine. That's not a good thing by the way. Are you sure you're up for it? You're not usually one for driving people mad."

I laughed mockingly, "Yeah well some things can change a person. I'm sure you would understand." I said, hoping he got what I was referring to. His eyes flashed as he realised what I was talking about. His awful upbringing, obviously.

"You know that I do." was his only response.

* * *

I got off the Hogwart's Express and immediately began to look around the platform. I couldn't see my parent's face anywhere, which was extremely odd because they were never late to anything - ever. A habit that I had picked up from them. I glanced at my watch, they were supposed to be here by now. I was going to go further into the crowd if I hadn't heard a familiar, loud whistle. I looked up and shock filled my features as I realised who was standing on the platform waiting, my brother Greg.

I approached him with a huge smile on my face, I couldn't even contain my smile. My brother's warm, friendly face greeted me as I attacked him into a bone-crushing hug.

"Merlin's eyeballs, Greg - what the hell are you doing here?" I said, laughing as I took in the fact that he was actually here.

Greg chuckled and proceeded to hug me back, an equally big smile on his face. "Hey there little sister. To answer your question I stopped by to greet James I heard he's now the captain of the Gryffindor team," as his eyes began to search the crowd behind me.

My eyebrows scrunched up in confusion, "What!?" I said, disappointment and bemusion written on my face.

He snickered at my expression, "I'm kidding, you idiot. I'm here to see you of course! It's a funny story actually," He said and flicked his wand at my luggage making it fly above us, following our every move. "So, I just finish this match you see - we lost but yeah, so I get a call from mum saying that you're coming back and what not. So I say, why don't I go pick my little sister up! Bet you were right surprised when you saw me, weren't you Win?" He said as we began to walk out of the platform.

I nodded, "You bet your left hand I was. It really is so good to see you, how have you been? How's Emily - was it?" I said, smiling at him as we reached the family's car.

Greg ran a hand through his wavy, light brown hair. A trait he got from our lovely father. "Eh, I don't know really. I think we're broken up. But, yeah I'm alright. The team hasn't been winning in a while - they think it's a jinx of some sorts. But I reckon it's the new keeper Mitch, he's not really good. But he's pretty, well thats what the girls say."

I laughed, "Ah, is that so? Wait, what do you mean you think you've broken up. I thought you were gonna get engaged - what happened?" I said, watching him start the car engine. I could see him, take a deep breathe and shut his eyes for a moment as the car roared to life.

By his body language, I could tell that something big happened. He was head in heels in love with that Emily girl, they were planning on getting engaged and eventually to get married! In a span of three months it was all gone? That didn't sound right to me. Or logical. I wasn't sure when I was going to get the information out of Greg but I was almost certain that it wasn't today.

He cleared his throat, "We, can talk about that later. Now on to more interesting topics - how have you been, Winnie? How are all your friends? Pulled any good pranks lately?" He said, avoiding my gaze and focusing on the road.

In all truthfulness, I wasn't sure how to answer him. Was I supposed to tell him the truth - that I had almost been murdered and embarrassed by a bunch of maniacs? That I had lost every friend other than the marauders? That I had never felt as bad as I did a few days ago? I wasn't sure what to reply to him. It never really seemed to make sense to me, how people would ask how you were but not really care for an honest answer.

I nodded, despite the fact that he wasn't looking at me. "I'm okay."

Greg looked over at me for a moment, dubiously. "Aw, come on. You can tell me, what's going on? Boy break your heart? I would threaten to rip him apart but I assume you would 'ave that by now."

I couldn't stop the laughter that exited my mouth, "No, it's not that." I paused, "Do you ever figure something out? Something you never really wanted to know? Then you just start to feel like nothing is right anymore? Something like that happened to me."

Greg nodded, "I know exactly what you mean, Win. Let me tell you one thing. It's the only thing that has kept me going. Whatever you are going through - know that it doesn't last. Nothing last's forever and that isn't always a bad thing." He said wisely.

His words hit hard to home. Very hard. It was like he knew exactly what I needed to hear and he said it, Greg was always like that. He always knew the right thing to say or do. But his words gave me comfort, comfort that I needed. Greg pulled up into the driveway, I stared out at the house and couldn't help the smile that found it's way on my face.

My mother and father peered out the window as they heard us pull up, they quickly opened the door and beamed when they saw us. My mother immediately saw me and pulled me into her usual warm hug. My mother began to say something to me but I wasn't listening. I was just so relieved, relieved that I was home. Even though it wasn't true - I felt safe again.

"What's wrong, Winnie?" She said, taking me in as the hug came to an end.

I shook my head, laughing. "Nothing mum I just - really, really missed you." It wasn't a lie, per se. But it wasn't the complete truth, either. The most important thing was that I was home. I was safe again.

For now.


	24. Chapter 23

Sorry that this was a bit later than usual - school, am I right?

Chapter 23

There was a certain beauty about waking up in your bed during the holidays. The warmth from the blankets, the feeling of complete relaxation because of the fact that you didn't have anything you needed to do, the beauty of not waking up to go to classes in the morning, it was all very serene. Almost therapeutic in a way.

I absolutely hated it.

Okay, that was bit of an overstatement. I didn't hate it- I abhorred it. I was a morning person, I hated having nothing to do. As a person who enjoyed having a list of things to do, this was like my personal hell. What was I supposed to? Read a book and enjoy the outdoors? No! I wanted to do something. What was especially worse was that my entire family loved having nothing to do, they enjoyed sitting around and doing nothing. Which made absolutely no sense to me! Instead of sitting around and relaxing, the time you spend doing nothing can be used to actually _do_ something!

I glanced at the clock above the fireplace, it was eleven thirty yet no one was doing anything. After cooking breakfast my father sat down and began to read the newspaper, my mother was reading in the corner and my brother Greg was just sitting on the couch, staring at the cackling fire. He was just sitting there and looking at the fire.

"You people are driving me crazy!" I exclaim making them all turn to me. "You're just sitting there and doing nothing!"

My mother laughed, her deep soft laughter that made my father chime in as well, "Winnie, darling - what do you want us to do? We're just happy you are all here and we're taking the time to savour these moments." She said, with a smile.

My father nodded, "Your mother's right, besides what are you in a rush for? There's nothing to be done." He said, amusement dancing in his eyes.

I groaned and sat down on the couch, "Exactly, there's nothing to do! I'm so bored that I counted how many steps there are on the stairs!" I said, pointing to the wooden stairs, "Thirty-eight if any of you are interested," I said, dully.

I felt a pillow hit me from the side, I turned to look at Greg who looked almost as bored as me. "Hey- don't be rude to your mother, Winifred." He said giving me his signature mischievous smile.

I rolled my eyes at Greg and threw the pillow back at him as hard as I could, unfortunately for me he managed to catch it just in time before it collided with his face. Damn quidditch abilities.

Greg grinned at me, cockily and said: "I see that your quidditch abilities haven't improved, eh Win?" he said, purposely trying to wind me up.

I resisted the urge to punch him in the shoulder and glared at him, "Why don't you go stuff it _Gregory?_ " I said, with a smirk as I watched his face go from neutral to annoyed in a matter of seconds. He hated when I called him Gregory but just before he could reply, my mother beat him to the catch.

"They haven't changed one bit have they, Harold?" She said, looking over at my father fondly.

My father put down the newspaper and glanced at us, "Those two? Ha, you wish Clara. " he said and then turned to me, "Why don't you go find something useful to do instead of fighting with each other."

Greg scoffed, looking appalled. "Dad, I can't believe you just said that. We aren't fighting, this is how we show love. Every scream means I love you, a punch means I really love you."

I laughed, nodding. "Oh yeah, he's right. You know what they say, the harder you hit - the more you care." I said, laughing. "Actually, no never mind. That's an awful mantra."

Greg rolled his eyes at me, "Winnie, can I ask how does it feel like to share the same name as a cartoon bear?" He said, grinning mockily as he referred to the great Winnie The Pooh.

I raised my eyebrows at him, "Well, since you asked. It feels great. How does it feel like to have a name so boring no one would use it to name a cartoon or book character?" I said, slyly.

Greg scoffed, "There are plenty of great people with the name Greg. Like for example, Greg Powers. He's amazing." He said, flashing me a arrogant smile.

I laughed, "Yeah right," I turned to my mum and sighed, "Mum, please - I'm going to die of boredom. What do I do?"

My mother rolled her eyes at me and gave me a pointed look, "Winnie, are you going to moan all day? Go find something to do," A erratic grin appeared on her face, "Why don't you go visit James! Oh, I'm sure he'd absolutely love to see you."

I stifled my laughter but nodded. My mother had this very strange idea in her head, a very hilarious idea that I would never reveal to any of the boys. She had only met James but she fell in love with him the minute she did, apparently he reminded her of my dad and she thought that he was 'the one' for me, despite the fact that I reminded her time and time again that we were strictly friends, she did not lose hope. It was quite amusing for the both of us.

"What! Mum, how is that fair at all? She does something and she's sent to see her _boyfriend_? When I get in trouble I'm not allowed to go anywhere!" He said, scowling at me.

I laughed, "It's because I'm her favourite," I said, sticking my tongue out at him. "Also James is not my boyfriend, Gregory!" I said, swiftly grabbing my coat from the rack and heading out, I was almost certain I heard him retort something but it wasn't coherent.

I stuck my hands in my pockets, shielding them from the cold weather. I could feel the icy weather trickling my nose and probably turning it red like a red-nosed reindeer. I glanced at the streets around me, I was close to where James lived, which was about fifteen minutes away from me. Which, in my opinion was the greatest thing ever.

I approached his house which immediately put a smile to my face, despite the fact that it was winter, there was a warm, cozy vibe to the house. I kicked around the snow that covered the path and knocked when I arrived at the doorstep. I rubbed my hands together as I waited to be let in. In less than a minute, the door slammed open to reveal a disheveled looking James Potter.

His eyeballs almost sprung out of his head, "Oh thank Merlin you're here," He said and grabbed my arm, pulling me in.

I barely had time to react, I was in the living room where the Potter family sat, mugs in their hands. "Hey what the- oh hello Mr and Mrs. Potter! Hope you're well - how's the hip?" I said, but James was already pulling me towards his room before I had time to actually greet his parents properly.

James pulled me into his room and shut the door so quickly, I didn't even notice it happening. He then began to rummage around the room, maniacally looking for something, he fumbled through the desks and began pulling out every single shelf and basically making a mess of his (surprisingly clean) room. I stared at him hopelessly and then he stopped and began to laugh as he pulled out a letter from underneath the table.

My eyes darted between the letter and him, "Eh? I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be doing here. Actually, I don't know what's happening at all." I said, laughing slightly.

James shook his head, a smile on his face. "Winnie, my beautiful yet blind friend please do me a favour and read who this is from!" He said and thrust the letter unto my hands.

I stifled a laugh and read the name written on the letter, "Lily Evans?" My eyes snapped up to his, "Lily Evans! Spit in my cup and call it water, James why the hell did you get a letter from Lily Firecracker Evans?" I said, grinning.

James laughed a larger smile on his face, "I don't know! Actually no, I do! I sent her a letter wishing her a happy new year! I didn't think she'd actually reply!" He said, looking at the letter like it was his most prized possession, which it probably was.

I chuckled, "So, what's it say?" I said, flopping down onto his bed which was adorned in gold and orange colours, which resembled the colours of the Gryffindor house.

He shrugged, "Who knows! I was waiting for you to get here so we can read it together - just in case, I accidentally read it wrong or something." He said and then sat down next to me.

I gaped at him, "What the - you were waiting for me? How'd you know I'd come?" I said and couldn't stop the smile that was forming on my face.

James scratched his cheek, "I don't know, I just know you always do." He then looked at the letter, "Should I open it or should you? No you do it -" He said passing it over to me, before jerking it away once more, "Or maybe I should? No, no no you do it." He said and reluctantly passed it over to me.

I rolled my eyes playfully at how excited he was and began to read the contents of the letter in a clear voice, "Dear Potter, thank you for wishing me a happy new year and I wish the same to you. Please, refrain from sending me love poems, I do not need them. Sincerely, Lily Evans." A scowl replaced the smile on my face, "What? That's it?"

James face dropped too, "I thought that poem was quite romantic, actually." He said as he slammed the pillow on his face, "I got my hopes up too high, didn't I?" He mumbled.

I felt sorry for him, it wasn't the fact that Lily rejected him that made me feel bad it was the fact that he thought that she'd change. But with my experience, I knew one thing for sure. People didn't - don't change. Once again, it really pissed me off how Lily thought it was okay to give him hope and then take it away in an instant.

I took the pillow off his face, "You alright James?" I said, knowing the answer to that question.

He sat up and ran a hand through his hair, "Well if feeling like absolute shite is your definition of alright then yes, I'm alright." He said, sighing. "Why do I do this to myself? I raise my expectations too high and then I end up getting hurt." He said, blankly as he stared at the wall behind me.

I instinctively reached out and touched his arm, wishing there was something I could do to fix this. "Do you want to get out of here?" I said, tilting my head to the side to get a better look at his face.

James nodded, "Yeah, let's get out of here." He said and stood up, heading out the door before I could get another word in.

I sighed and grabbed a jacket for him, it was too cold to go out without a jacket and I was almost certain that he would catch hypothermia without it. Surprisingly, the jacket was actually a jacket I had gifted him a few years back and it was kind of nice to see that he still had it. I quickly followed James who was waiting for me by the gate.

I looked at him. At the sadness on his face, the confusion and I absolutely hated it. Lily Evans was beginning to get a bad name in my book and I did not like how she was treating James. At all.

"Here," I said, walking down the steps and throwing the jacket at him. "You'll need this, it's freezing." I said, with a lopsided smile.

He gave me a grateful look and put it on in one swift motion, "Thanks Win," He laughed. "What am I supposed to do without you?" He said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

I shrugged casually as we began to walk, "Wither and die. Or just die. You probably wouldn't survive that long without me." I said, smirking and hitting my shoulder with his.

He looked over at me, a fond smile on his face. "You're turning a bit arrogant aren't you?" he said, obviously joking.

"Well, I learned from the best didn't I?" I said, returning his question with a question. "I mean, have you seen how much product Sirius uses on is hair- and he has the audacity to call me high-maintenance." I said, scoffing.

James threw his head back in laughter, "Apparently it 'enhances his curls'," He said, laughing and lazily putting his arm on my shoulder.

I gaped at him, "Is that what he does? I should've known. Those curls were too good to be true, I mean nobody and I mean nobody has perfect curls all the time." I shook my head, "I'm speaking from experience,"

James laughed and then he stopped, "Winnie, can I just say that this world is terrible, cruel and downright awful. But you make it a just a little bit more tolerable."

I smiled and hit him in the shoulder, "Aw, I love you too, James-y." I said, actually happy to hear him say that. It was nice to be appreciated, especially by your friends.

He ran a hand through his head and left his hand to rest on the back of his head, "That's not what I was saying but okay." He stuck his hands in his pocket, "Winnie, do you think I need to -"

I cut him short, "Yes. I do, I really do, James." I nodded and we stopped at a bench and sat down, staring at the near- empty street that faced us.

His eyes widened, "You really think I should finally and officially give up on Lily Evans?" He said, sounding shocked.

I scratched the back of my head. This wasn't actually what I was agreeing with but now that he brought it up, I did agree whole-heartedly. "Yeah, I really think you should. I mean, she's not even nice! To you, I mean to you. She's nice to other people though."

He snorted, "The last time I talked to her she shot a curse at me. I defected it though." He said, laughing for some bizarre reason.

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, she seems to really like you mate." I turned my body to face his, "James, can I ask you a really serious question?"

He shrugged, "No you can ask me a James question." He said, making me laugh. "Yeah of course, ask away."

I smiled, "Why her? Why out of all the girls in the school who would die to even get a glance from you - why her? I mean, she's the last person who's interested in you. She practically would dance on your grave if she could, yet - you still like her? How is that even remotely possible?" I asked, bemused beyond reason.

He laughed, staring ahead. "I like her because she doesn't throw herself at me. I like her because she doesn't like me, ever heard of opposites attract? She's not like the other girls, Winnie." He said, looking a bit dazed.

If I could roll my eyes at anything in this world, it would be at what he just said. What he said made absolutely no sense! He thought that would answer my questions but it did the opposite. I mean there were so many other girls who were just like him. He needed someone who actually cared about him, not someone who wanted him to leave her alone.

"You want my honest opinion on what I think about all this?" I said, a scowl on my face.

His hazel eyes met mine, "I have a feeling you're going to tel me regardless of if I say yes or not." He said, amusement twinkling in his eyes.

I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, "True - but that's not the point. I don't think Lily is the right person for you - she's rude, tacky and insensitive. She doesn't deserve you because she doesn't see how great you are and she doesn't acknowledge how much time you put in to do stuff for her - also I don't like redheads that much." I said, laughing. "You deserve so much better than her, James." I said, trying to get my point across in the best way possible.

James laughed, probably realising how frustrated I was. "Why do you care so much?" he said, studying my face.

I hit his arm, annoyed at what he just said. "Hmm, you tell me. Why should I care about someone I love? Do I look like an evil troll? I want the best for you. Idiot." I said, rolling my eyes.

Then he kissed me.


	25. Chapter 24

**Is it Winnie x James? Is it Winnie x Sirius?! IS IT JAMES x SIRIUS? ONLY TIME WILL TELL. HAHAHAHAHA. I love you teasing all of you. Also Happy Eid to all/any muslims who are reading this story! :)**

Chapter 24

I didn't even have time to comprehend what had happened because before I knew it my lips were attached with his. It was like time had stopped for a moment, or maybe it had truly stopped. I wasn't sure. But, there was something missing. It felt wrong. It definitely was not James who turned out to be a better kisser than I thought. It was the fact that I was bloody kissing my best friend - it didn't feel right. Sure, I had a crush on him when I was in first year and he was cute, I'll give you that. But there wasn't that spark. The fireworks - it wasn't there. There wasn't anything at all - I couldn't feel anything and I quickly pulled away when I realised that.

Suddenly, It was like my brain had suddenly turned back on and I realised what had happened a moment ago, which automatically put my brain into panic mode. My jaw fell open and I stared stupidly at James. I stood up and then sat back down about twenty times and stared at him, not being able to form sentences. James was surprisingly calm and he looked at me with confusion as I freaked out in front of him. I couldn't keep my jaw shut and my heart was beating so fast it could probably pump enough blood to save thirty people. I couldn't believe he had just kissed me.

"What- how - why did you just do that - are you insane?" I spluttered, standing up and sitting down about twenty times. "Why did you just - GAH," I said, running a hand through my curly hair.

James gave me a strange look, "Winnie, sit down! Merlin - I didn't ask for your hand in marriage!" He said as if he had done nothing at all. "Could you calm down?"

I gave him the same look I would give to a martian who dropped down to this planet to collect trees, "Calm down? You want me to calm down - he wants me to calm down. Ha!" I scoffed, "Why did you do that - do you want me to overthink things and eventually ruin our friendship? Also! Yes, this is bigger than my hand in marriage - it's like eh my foot in friendship!" I said, trying to contain my self. Badly.

James rubbed his forehead, shutting his eyes. "You're right - sorry, I'm sorry. That wasn't meant to happen. I acted on impulse." His eyes flickered to me, "I probably just ruined everything didn't I?" he groaned.

I took a deep breathe, sitting down. "I honestly - can not believe you just did that." I was surprised I even managed that sentence properly.

James gave me an apologetic look, "Sorry - Winnie, I didn't - I needed to check okay?" he said as if what he was saying made sense. At all. Which it didn't.

I gave him a 'are you kidding me look. "You needed to check what? For herpes? For asthma? Because I'm pretty sure I don't have that!" I felt like my mouth was saying random things, but I couldn't stop myself. "I do have seasonal asthma though, but that is not the point!"

James laughed, "I don't think you know what you're saying." He tilted his head to the side, "Eh- no, I needed to check if I had feelings for you." he said nonchalantly.

"So you can't just -I don't know, do something besides kissing me?" I pinched the bridge of my nose and avoided his gaze, "You know what, do me a huge favour and shut up. Like really shut up. Or I'm going to punch you. Or cry. Or break your glasses."

He gave me a strange look but complied. We stared at the street across us in silence and I put my chin on my knees. It was strange enough to find out that you were almost killed but when your best friend ends up kissing you - that kind of complicates things. A lot. I mean, I never really though of James _that_ way. I mean, he was great and he was always around and he was adorable. But, it was always platonic. I didn't expect one kiss to just change how I felt about him and I'm sure he felt that way too.

James looked over at me and then began to laugh, "Is this our life? Full of mistakes and things that were never meant to happen?" he asked, with a small smile.

I didn't know why but I started to laugh really hard. It started out as a giggle, but then turned into full blown laughter that I couldn't contain no matter how hard I tried. Eventually James joined in and we were laughing so hard we were getting stares from strangers. I didn't even know why that was funny, but it was. For some reason, he put me at ease. James was probably the only friend I could kiss and still end up talking to. Not that I had kissed any of my friends - except Hunter Wingly, that didn't really end well. We don't speak anymore.

I then turned to look at James and then pointed at him before exclaiming loudly, "If you thought that kiss was going to ruin our friendship then forget it! I'm not letting you stop us from being best friends because I really value your friendship, okay! So any ideas you had about James and Winnie being over then get it out of your brain, good sir!"

James laughed, "I actually didn't suggest that our friendship be ruined. But I agree. I value our friendship too and I'm sorry I kissed you."

I sighed in relief, "Good! Because that's not what I wanted. Apology accepted, but if you think that's going to happen again then you better think again mister!" I said, pointing an accusing finger at him.

James nodded, "No, I changed my mind. I don't want to be friends with you anymore, you're a bit weird." He mused.

I scrunched my nose at him, "Am I? Really? Or is your perception of normal way off?" I said, giving him a wise look.

His forehead contorted, "That's actually a good question - hey, wait what does this have to do with anything?"

I gave him a blank look, "I don't know, I think I'm in a state of shock or panic. It could be both, I don't know what's happening to me," I said with a smile.

James wiped his glasses with the corner of his shirt, "Winnie, you're mad as a box of cats." He laughed, "Hey, quick question do you fancy me?" he asked so casually, like we weren't best friends for six years.

I shrugged, "I don't think so but then again I'm not exactly emotionally stable so. Hey wait - do you fancy me?" I asked, unsure if I really wanted to know the answer to that question.

James gave me an equally unsure look, "I don't think so either, but then again who knows what the future holds?" He grinned, "The future confuses me that's for sure."

I laughed, "Oh is that what's making you confused? Not the fact that we just kissed a minute or three ago!" I kicked the snow that lay beneath my feet, "Okay James but do you still like Lily Evans? Because, if not - I know about three girls who would be really compatible with you. Surprisingly all of their names start with an O." I said, still eyeing the snow.

James shook his head, a smile on his face. "Winnie, we just kissed and now you're playing matchmaker? But to answer your question, I don't know. What about you?" He said, truthfully.

I looked over at him and smiled, "Well, I'm not really interested in girls but I do admit that Georgina Penwicks is definitely cute," James began to chuckle at me, "What?" I asked, bemused.

James gave me a pointed look, "C'mon, Win. Don't pretend to not know what I'm talking about." I gave him a blank stare, honestly and truly confused beyond anything.

"I have absolutely no idea what you are suggesting right now." I said, shaking my head.

James's smile disappeared and he gave me a awkward look, "Oh, you really don't know. Ah, this is a bit awkward isn't it? Especially after I just kissed you - I'm not really sure if I should tell you or not, especially without a punching bag present." He rambled, mostly to himself.

I rubbed my forehead, mentally preparing myself for what was coming, "James - please, get to the point. What is it that everyone knows and that I don't?" Other than everything.

"Well, basically. I've been hearing it for a while but I mean, I didn't believe it - not until Peter told me himself, which kind of made me believe him but you know now that I think about it - he does hang around that gossip-y Hufflepuff girl who I suspect is his secret girlfriend, but who knows with Peter." His eyes flickered to my impatient ones, "Okay, how do I say this - everyone thinks you and Sirius like each other. Or secretly like each other to be more specific."

The only thing I could feel right now was. Question mark. That wasn't even a feeling but that was the only thing that I could feel, or fathom to be more specefic. If i was confused five minutes ago it was nothing to how confused I was feeling right now. People assumed that Sirius and I were - together? Really? Us? I mean, we have only been getting on well recently I mean we usually fought - oh. That was why people were assuming. But, now that I thought about it. I could use this to my advantage.

"Maybe, maybe this isn't a bad thing. I mean, I've been trying to think up of ways to be seen with you guys without making Mulciber and Avery suspicious - maybe this is it!" I said a huge grin appearing on my face.

James easily caught my drift, "He'll think you two are dating and then he won't know that you know, you are a genius!" He said, mimicking my grin.

I slammed my hand down on the cold wood, "James, spit in my cup and call it water. This is the greatest news I have heard all day. We need to assemble them right away. We need to share this news!"

James laughed hesitantly, "Why would I spit in your - whatever. Yeah, we need to get them here. Preferably my house?" He said, looking excited.

I nodded, "Why do I feel like you're looking for a reason to see them?" I said laughing but then I then thought back to what he had just said, "Wait, you said Peter told you - why would Peter tell you something like that? I didn't know Peter could be so..sneaky. Like a rat. Like a sneaky rat person." I said, scrunching my brows together in anger.

Peter was the last person I ever suspected to be gossiping, especially about us, his friends for Merlin's sake! It made no sense to me why he would assume when he could actually ask us in person what was going on? Which was nothing, of course. But still! That really bothered me and I made a mental note to one day talk to him about it.

James rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, I was surprised too. But, I assumed he knew because one of you guys told him or something. Which, now that I think about it was stupid because if there was something you would tell me. Right?" He said, meeting my eyes and then repeating, uncertainly. "Right?"

I rolled my eyes at his stupidity and then hit his arm, "Of course I'd tell you, you idiot. You know I can't keep a secret for the life of me. Also, I'd probably be excited and then announce it to everyone really loudly, accidentally. Or not, who knows I can be quite loud." I mumbled the last part to myself mostly.

James's face contorted to form a faux shocked look, "What? You'd be so excited to date Sirius to the point that you would announce it to everyone? You would happily date Sirius and not me? Am I too boring for you, Winnie Powers? _Am I?_!" He said, humour lacing his words.

I shrugged, playing along. "Well, he does have great hair. Also, he has that kind of vibe, you know - the bad boy? You're like the soft bunny kind of guy. You're too nice, unfortunately." I said, jabbing him in the shoulder.

He gave me a blank stare, "I'm sorry, what did you just say to me? Did you just call me a _soft bunny_? How do I in any way, shape or form emulate a 'soft bunny'? I mean, have you seen Sirius? His animagus is a dog - a dog! I'm a bloody stag, Winnie Erhad Powers!" He said giving me a look as if he couldn't believe I had just said that to him.

I sighed, giving him a bored look. "Listen darling, we can't all be Sirius Black's in a world of Winnie Powers's and James Potters's and Remus Lupin's and I don't actually know what I'm saying." I laughed, "Sometimes I do this thing where I talk but my words don't really have a point. It's like a sentence about nothing." I said bleakly.

"That's reassuring because I honestly have no idea what you are talking about most of the time." He said, jokingly. I think.

I stuck my hands in my pockets, "Just to clarify, I am not secretly or un-secretly dating Sirius Black. Or Remus. Or Peter. Or you. I'm not seeing anyone." Even though there was no need to I felt the need to justify myself. "James, I need to ask you an important question."

"What do you need to know?" He asked, hazel eyes gleaming with curiosity.

I cleared my throat, "So, you said that you heard about Sirius and I 'dating', so if you assumed that.. why'd..eh you know - kiss me?" I said, awkwardly.

He shifted in his seat, "Win, honestly? I didn't really think about that. It was a spur of the moment thing, believe me." He scratched his cheek, "This is a bit awkward."

"I know. I know, this is so weird. I never thought I'd be having this conversation with you." I laughed. "Idiot. Don't ever kiss me again or I'll punch you in the face." I said, raising my clenched hand up warningly.

He chortled and then stood up, "Alright, alright you numpty. I won't kiss you again, unless you're dying because you got bit by a poisonous snake and my kiss is the only thing that can save you" I gave him a emotionless stare, "Whoa - not even then, fine. Save yourself then, Powers." He said, chuckling.

I grinned, "Of course I'll save myself! I don't need a man to save me. I'm a powerful, strong and independent woman with a mild love for animals and breakfast food."

He glanced at his watch, "Y'know what? it's getting a bit late, I'll walk you home." He said, reaching out his hand which I reluctantly took, because surprisingly I was really very comfortable in that bench.

While I was walking home all I could think about was how strange this day was. I mean, my life was always strange - my life was so strange that I could have an entire film made about my life that wouldn't make you want to sleep half-way through the title sequence, but this. This was different, I mean first finding out that people thought that Sirius and I were together, the fact that James and I kissed. That was crazy! Yet, I was walking, so calmly. Like I didn't even care at all.

I wasn't sure if there was something wrong with me, but it was like I physically and emotionally couldn't feel anything. It was like I was immune to all things feelings related. I mean, when did I get so apathetic? I wasn't always like this and it really bothered me. I didn't want to be an emotionless zombie, yet here I was. Without a care. It was slightly terrifying.

"How am I so calm about this?" I asked, with a slight scoff as I turned to look at James.

James exhaled, laughing slightly. "I don't know. I was kind of asking myself that, I mean - I did kiss you. Me, your best friend. Of six bloody years. How are you acting so normally?" He sounded just as confused as I was.

I shrugged, "I don't know! I think it was the fact that you have a really calming vibe about you - it stopped me from freaking out. I did freak out. But I didn't freak out and avoid you forever so that's good. I think." I grinned.

I could feel James's gaze on me, "Oh, is that it Winnie? My calming vibe? Is that what you like about me?" He said, puffing his chest arrogantly as we walked.

I rolled my eyes, once more. "Oh, shut up you arrogant toe rag as the lovely Lily Evans calls you." I said, jabbing him with my arm. "But, honestly James Potter you are probably the only person I could ever kiss and still face!" I said, slightly happy.

My happiness must have been infectious because a smile lit his face, "Oh is that right? That's nice, I guess. Lucky me. Actually no, that's awful - now I can't get rid of you once and for all," He said sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes at him, "Yeah right, like you can get rid of me. I'm stuck with you so hard that when you die, my grave will be so close next to you, we will literally be able to see each other's bones."

He gave me a weird look, "So do you -eh, think about this a lot, Winnie?" he said, amused.

I stopped myself from rolling my eyes, "Of course I do, James Potter infact I'll probably be the one who kills you - now which method would be better for you to die in, choked or drowned? Also what ceremony would you like - 'Cause you know I'll be planning your funeral too." I said, all with a straight face.

He cackled with laughter, "You know, you're kind of annoying." James said, sighing as he walked. "But what can I do - I'm stuck with you. You're the only one who knows about my secret stamp collecting habit."

I grinned reaching my house. "Yeah, it's such a secret. It's not like people give you stamps for your birthday since you love them so much." I said sardonically. I then laughed and turned to him, "Hug. Now. Please."

James sighed loudly and said, "Oh, fine." He said in a annoyed tone and pulled me into a hug. I was almost certain that he was giddy inside. He was a huge hugger.

"Never speak of the kiss, ever. Understood?" James mumbled, to my hair. "Don't even tell the guys. Not because it was awful but because they'll never stop reminding us about it. Until we die. I'm not even joking. Padfoot still reminds me of the time I fell down and accidentally hit Minerva in the face. It was in first year for Merlin's sake!" He said, shuddering.

I laughed, "Oh, that is such a good story. One of my favourites actually. Especially the part where Minerva almost scratches you with her claws," I nodded, "But, sure. You got it. Not a word about our illicit love affair." I said, with a flirtatious wink.

James gently grabbed my shoulders, shaking his head. "No, no illicit love affair. Do not bring this up to anyone you hear me?" he asked, giving me a pointed look.

I stuck my tongue out at him, "Sorry, I can't hear you my passionate love for you is blocking my hearing." I said sarcastically as I walked up the pathway leading to my house.

I could feel James roll his eyes at me, "Goodnight Winnie," He said and I looked back to see him smiling at me.


	26. Chapter 25

**I would just like to proudly and happily announce that this story has reached over FIVE THOUSAND VIEWS! Yeah, that's right! Five thousand views! That's insane! I can't believe five thousand people have read my work. That just blows my mind! I know five thousand might not be that big of a deal, but it is to me and I just want to thank everyone who has ever read, favourited, followed and reviewed - you honestly have no idea how much it means to me. Also to anyone who has just discovered my story, welcome! To all those who have been reading from day one - welcome back, my dears. Welcome back and enjoy.**

Chapter 25

 ** _Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!_** The doorbell rang excitedly making me sigh as I put the book I was reading down. Unfortunately for me, my parents and Greg were out of town so I had to open the door and converse with whoever was there. I tried to stop myself from rolling my eyes as I forced myself to walk towards the wooden door. I was greeted by three friendly faces as I opened the door. Hurray it was christmas carollers, ready to sing even though christmas was long gone! Just kidding, it was my all-time favourite group of boys. The marauders. I couldn't even try to contain the smile that appeared on my face once I saw them. It was like an immediate and automatic reaction that occurred when I hadn't seen them in a long time.

"So, a werewolf, stag and a mouse walk into a bar.." James said, smirking as he leaned against the doorway.

Remus laughed, "What he means by that is, hi." Remus's eyes twinkled with happiness, "It's good to see you Winnie,"

I cut them off with my laughter, "Yeah it's good to see you too." I moved away from the door to let them in, "Come on in before you freeze to death and catch hypothermia. Or is it pneumonia? You know what just sit down." I rambled.

Peter chortled as he walked in, "It's nice to know Winnie hasn't changed." I wasn't quite sure what he meant by that.

They all sat down on the couch before I shook my head and loudly exclaimed: "Wait, wait, wait - stand up again so I can hug all of you. Or you know what? I have a even better idea! Group hug!" I said, holding my hands out happily.

They all looked at each other and simultaneously responded with, "No."

I put my hands down and frowned, "Jerks much?" I sat down on the chair, facing them. "Anyway, what are you all doing here? Were you so overcome by your love for me that you just had to see me?" I said, resting my chin on my hand.

Remus snorted, "Yeah, that's it. You got us." He shook his head, "No, actually I have no idea. James sent all of us a letter asking, well more like telling us to show up at his house. But then we showed up and he took us here. Nice house by the way."

Oh of course! I had completely forgotten that James had insisted that we all meet up soon. But I was also fairly certain that he said to meet up at his house and not mine.

"Thanks!" I said, happily. "Oh, hey wait. I thought we were going to meet up at your house," I said, directing the last part to James.

He shrugged, "Change of plans. Mum's having a dinner party." he said, leaning back into the chair, "But since I had already told them to come, I just thought. Why not just go to your house?"

"Good call, Potter," I said, smiling. "Anyway! Tell me how you've all been! Peter I thought you were going to travel somewhere and Remus you said you wouldn't make it,"

Peter nodded, "Yeah we were going to but then my nan fell on the stairs and broke her hip." he said, passively.

I gasped, "Merlin's bright green eyes - is she alright?!" I said, unsure how he was talking about the subject so emotionlessly.

Peter shrugged, "She's alright, but she makes me massage her feet now. Twice a day too, apparently it helps her relax. "

I didn't really know how to respond to that, "Oh, well, that's nice I suppose." I said, laughing awkwardly.

James threw his head back in laughter, "Ah, what a beautiful ending to that lovely and entertaining story."

Remus nodded, "Honestly, I wasn't going to come but the full moon passed and I didn't really have anything else to do, I finished all the assignments that were due and I read all the school books so, I thought, why not visit my friends?" Remus said smiling.

"How noble of you, Remus James Lupin." James said patting him on the back, making us all laugh.

Remus furrowed his bushy brows at him, "My middle name is not James, James. It's John."

Peter scratched the back of his head, "I thought it was Jeremy." he squeaked.

I cracked my knuckles, "Hey Remus what about that girl? Anything happen with her?" I said, excitedly.

James grinned, "I forgot about that, thanks for the reminder Dot." He said and then jabbed Remus with his elbow, Remus looked like he would turn into a tomato from how red he was.

Remus sat with downcast eyes, "No - nothing happened, I promise. I went over to her house but no one was home. Apparently she's visiting family somewhere." He said, disappointment obvious on his face.

"Damn, I was really hoping for something to happen." James said, looking crestfallen.

Peter scratched his head, "What? Remus you like somebody? Since when?" He said, his small eyes spinning as he racked his brain.

We all exploded into laughter but then realised that a certain pair of grey eyes were missing from our group, "Hey - where's Sirius? He's the essence of the conversation we were all supposed to have!" I said, frowning.

"The essence of the conversation, how poetic," Remus said laughing. "I thought that he would be here, because you know." his eyes were lit with humor.

I gave him a look, "Because what? because everyone thinks we're secretly in love? Well he's not and we are certainly not in love," I snapped, clenching my jaw. It was annoying how I needed to verify that so often.

Remus raised his brows at me, "Whoa, Winnie - I was only messing about. Of course I know you're not secretly in love with Sirius. How daft do you think I am?" he asked rhetorically.

I winced, feeling a pang of regret. "I'm sorry Moony, I didn't mean to lash out on you. It's just the fact that ever since I've been friends with all of you I have had to tell people time and time again that no, I am not going out with any of you. It gets out of hand at times and I shouldn't have taken it out on you." I said, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

"I would be mad at you, but you really know how to apologise. That's good, not a lot of people know how to do that. You know? Give a sincere apology." Remus said, giving me a half-smile. "What conversation are you talking about?"

I cracked my knuckles, "Well, basically - you know what, I think it would be better if I told you when we were all here."

Peter nodded, "That's probably a good idea."

James cleared his throat, "Sirius couldn't make it. He's stuck at his house, his parents won't let him leave. Poor bloke." He said sadly.

"Oh, I should have guessed. They never let him visit during the winter holidays. Something about an important party or something." Remus said, disappointment written across his face.

Peter bit his lip, "I wish their was something we could do."

A look appeared on James's face, a look I knew all too well. "No, whatever you're planning to do. No, stop it." I said, wagging a finger at James but it was already too late. James already had come up with something and there was no stopping him now.

"Why don't we go pay our little friend a visit?" James said, grinning brightly.

I was shocked. I had expected a more reckless plan but it wasn't such a bad idea. We could rescue Sirius from his personal hell so he could actually enjoy the holidays for once. Everyone who knew Sirius personally knew that there wasn't anything he dreaded more than going back to his family.

Peter looked scared, "But isn't that..dangerous?"

Remus shook his head, "No, it's way too reckless. Besides what are we going to do? His parents hate anyone who isn't one of them. Which means they hate muggle-borns, half-bloods and blood-traitors as they like to call it. I'm pretty sure that none of us are on their list of favourite people." Remus said, sensibly.

I weighed the pros and cons in my head, 'That's true, but I mean - he hates it there. His parents are verbally and physically abusive. Why do we get to have fun on this break while he gets to suffer? Why should he be forced to stay somewhere he doesn't even want to be? It's not fair." I said, standing up and grabbing my coat that was lying on the chair.

James nodded, "Winnie is right. Look, you don't have to come with us if you don't want to. But we're not going to just let him suffer." he said standing up.

Remus seemed to think it over for a moment, "Look, fine. Fine. I'm coming but we can't go looking like that."

I gave him a strange look, "What do you mean?"

* * *

"This is what you meant, huh?" James said, facing the door of Sirius's house. This was it. Twelve Grimmauld Place. It was the complete opposite of what I had in mind. Sirius's description of the house was nothing like how it was in real life. He described a living hell but that was not the house was vast, a large white marble building with a shiny black fence surrounding the house. The home basically screamed luxury and money. But, despite how grand the place was, it did not give off that comfortable, cozy and welcoming feeling you would get at James's house or even mine. It lacked warmth and it made me really sad to imagine how he could have lived here.

Basically the Black family held an annual party during the holidays. Everyone who was someone, was invited. So we were all dressed in our most extravagant clothes. We never dressed up like this but according to Remus, the only way to get in was to look like you belonged. It was actually amusing, the fact that were all dressed so nice to actually sneak someone out of here.

Personally, I was just excited over the fact that I looked like a glamorous film star. I was wearing a long, emerald green silk dress accompanied with nude high-heeled shoes and my hair was wavy! I never had wavy hair! But it was not about how I looked, it was how I felt. Even though, I wasn't here to party - I felt luxurious and I loved that. Even if it was only for a little bit, it felt nice.

"Exactly. Now, this is what's going to happen. All of us are going to walk in there and act like snobs. Don't talk to anyone, stick your nose up in the air and act like you're supposed to be there. Then we find Sirius and then leave, got it?" Remus said, glancing at all of us.

I grinned and bounced happily, "This is so exciting! I feel like I'm in a spy film! Am I the only one who's having a good time here?"

Peter gave me a bleak look, "No! This suit is scratchy." he whined and tugged on the shirt he was wearing.

James rolled his eyes at Peter, "Who cares! Let's just get in and get out, as quick as we can." he said and then flashed me a grin, "I am kind of excited actually."

Remus laughed, "Let's go, you guys." he said and pushed us towards the door, the gate opened automatically and I gulped when I noticed a man standing outside with a list. Probably an invitation list.

But, I had to do what Remus said. Act snobbish. I stuck my nose out in the air and pushed passed the guys as if I didn't know them, I sashayed over to the man standing there with confidence, I moved to open the door but he stopped me.

"Excuse me, miss you can't go in there without an invitation." He said, putting his hand across the door to stop me from entering.

I guffawed at him, " _Excuse you?_ Do you not know who you are talking to? Did you just try to stop me from getting into my own party? Do you want me to call my father right now? Because I can have you fired." I said, flipping my hair as I glared sharply at him.

He looked taken aback but still didn't let me cross, "I'm sorry, miss but I can't let you enter without a name." As he tilted towards me I could faintly see a scribble of the name 'Adderson'.

"Adderson, now will you let me pass or do I have to call security?" I said, crossing my arms at him. I felt really bad for snapping at him but he was collateral damage.

He looked at the paper and then nodded, removing his hand and giving me a slight nod. "Sorry ma'am, you can pass and please forgive me I did not intend to offend you." He said sincerely.

I nodded, "Alright." I said and quickly passed through, I turned around to see the boys there but before I could get a word in the door was shut and I was suddenly in Grimmauld Place.

The house was lit with floating candles and a large chandelier, illuminating the dark atmosphere of the house. There was a light coming out of a certain room and I could faintly hear the chatter of people as well as the clinking of glasses. I assumed that was the room where the party was being held at. But I felt the strange need to explore the house.

There were several paintings, but they were horribly ugly and distasteful. But what really caught my attention was the row of shrunken heads. Elf heads, to be exact. I gasped as I took in the monstrosity that lay in front of me. I couldn't imagine what kind of inhumane person would put a thing like this in the house. There were plaques too, and it took everything in me not to gag right there and then. Obviously, the Black family were proud of the elves they had or they wouldn't showcase it so evidently.

"It's awful isn't it?" A voice said making me gasp and turn around to face a tall, brunette with striking wide eyes. Kind eyes. She looked familiar, way too familiar.

I wasn't sure whether to keep up my facade or not, but I had no choice but to do so. "It's not so bad. Excuse me," I said shortly and tried to leave.

The girl stood in front of me, stopping me from entering the room where everyone was. "Now, just who might you be?" she said, but she didn't sound angered - she sounded amused.

"I don't think that's relevant right now." I said, glancing at the door. If she wasn't going to let me in that room, there was no way that I could get Sirius out.

The girl laughed, "Well, it is my aunt's house so yeah, I think it is pretty relevant." She tilted her head to the side, "Now, tell me who you are."

There was no way I could tell her the truth. "Adderson, Amelia Adderson." I said, randomly. I had no idea who that even was or if they even existed.

The girl widened her eyes at me, "Oh! Really? You're Amelia Adderson? The famous writer? How lovely it is to meet you." She said, smiling.

I wasn't sure if she was telling the truth or not. "Yes, yes. That's me, the famous writer." I laughed. "Look, I really must go and greet your aunt, I haven't had the chance to." I said, trying to escape her.

The girl then chuckled, "That's hilarious because Amelia Adderson doesn't exist! Listen here, how about you start telling me the truth because if not, I can get you into serious trouble. Look, I'll even tell you my name. I'm Andromeda and who are you?" She said, smiling.

Andromeda. Andromeda. That name sounded familiar, oh wait. I knew who this was! "You're Sirius's cousin - Andromeda Tonks? Aren't you?" I said, breathing a sigh of relief. She was his favourite cousin and I assumed someone I could trust.

She seemed surprised, "You're one of Sirius's friends aren't you?" She giggled, "How did you manage to get in here? Wow! I knew his friends were wild but I didn't think they'd manage to sneak in 'ere. You're what's your name -" she said and then snapped her fingers.

"Winnie." We said both at the same time and I laughed, "Yeah, that's me. Listen, we're trying to get him out of here. But I don't know where he is, can you help me?" I said, glancing at the door and at her.

She still seemed to be in awe, "Sirius is so lucky to have friends who would do things like that! Also, just look at you! You're absolutely gorgeous! I mean, he mentioned that you were pretty, but wow - your dress and everything. You're stunning!" She grinned.

It was my turn to be surprised now, "Oh, thank you. That's really kind of you." I felt my face flush, "Wait, Sirius told you I was pretty?"

Andromeda nodded, a smirk on her face. "Yeah and to answer your question, of course I'll help you! I'm sure that if I wasn't here with him then he would go insane. Poor him. Look, I'll go in first and then you follow. We can't go together or his mum will think that you're a blood traitor too. She doesn't like me much." She laughed.

I nodded, "Okay, sure. Let's do this." I laughed. "Wow, it's really nice to meet you. Sirius talks about you all the time!"

Andromeda laughed, "All good things I hope, " she said approaching the room, "Like I said, I'll go first. Good luck!" She said, throwing me a smirk before she went into the room.

Now it was my turn.


	27. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

I took a deep breathe and pushed the door open to reveal a massive ballroom. There was a violin choir playing in one corner of the room and the whole room had a chandelier emitting a beautiful, bright light that seemed to be never-ending, I could almost feel everyone turning to look at me and despite how much I wanted to lower my head and hide in the corner, I didn't. I kept my head up high and focused on my breathing. I could see Andromeda giving me a nod of approval. But who I could not see, was Sirius. Or any of the guys, really. I quickly moved towards the drinks area and swiftly snatched the first drink I could see.

I turned around and took a sip, trying to see if I could find him. Unfortunately for me, the ballroom was packed with people. The rich and the famous, they were all here. Celebrities? You name it, they were all here. I was almost certain that I saw the minister of magic, sitting in a corner with a bunch of ladies. I moved my hair to one side and that's when I noticed a group of older women eyeing me with envious looks.

"Who is _she_?" A snarky woman said loudly, she was fashioned with expensive layers of clothing. Clothing I could never even dream to have.

A lady with an abnormally long nose turned to me and huffed, "Is that the daughter of that poet?" She said trying to get a better look at me.

Another one shook her head, "No, that's Darla Willingston - they do look quite similar though Darla doesn't have such a huge nose." She said, cackled boisterously.

I gulped but kept my nose stuck in the air, I had never had a bunch of older women look at me with such envy in their eyes. All the older women I knew were kind and had already had their fair share of life. But these people, they did not seem to like me one bit. Despite the fact that they were at least twenty years older than I was and they were dressed in fine, expensive clothes - they were cheap.

As the music played, I overlooked the crowd still trying to find Sirius. I tried to decipher him from the crowd but to no avail, there were too many people with dark hair and was of his height and build. I kept glancing at my watch, if I was too late then he would be stuck here.

"Would you like to dance?" A man said, I shook my head and said no.

"A dance, sweetheart?" Another said and I shook my head once more. Absolutely not.

The more I sat down, the more offers to dance came up. I decided to stand up and just walk around, find something to do. I reached the food table and glanced at the array of decadent desserts but before I even had the chance to grab a macaroon, a voice behind me spoke.

"You, my dear are absolutely stunning." A deep voice said making me turn around. It was an older man, a balding man who seemed of middle-age with a prominent beer belly and a expensive suit. The only thing I could get from him was the urging sense to get away from him.

I nodded but didn't smile or acknowledge the man, "Thank you." I said letting my eyes wander away from him and around the crowd of people.

He scoffed, "How rude of you to not look at me while you speak, young lady. Especially while I am trying to make you an exceptional offer." The man said making me take a gander at his face. He was not at all handsome, nor did he have kind features and I was fairly certain that the 'exceptional offer' was not something innocent.

I raised a sharp brow at him, "Excuse me sir, but if you think for the slightest moment that I owe you any of my time due to the fact that you are wealthy or of high status then you are clearly mistaken." I said, narrowing my eyes at him and then I flashed him a sardonic smile, "Good day,"

The music began to slow down and I knew that meant it was time for a dance to occur, which meant that it was the perfect time to locate Sirius Black. But before I had time to actually look for him I felt a hand pull me behind a curtain.

"Merlin's beard Winnie, do you have any idea what you just did?!" Andromeda shrieked, trying to contain her laughter and failing.

I shook my head at her, "Eh, I rejected a perverted old man?" I said obviously.

She chortled, "Do - you -have - any - idea - who that is?" She said in-between laughter.

I turned around to look at him. I had no idea who that was, nor had I ever seen him before. I turned back and gave her a blank stare, "No? Who is he anyway? Why does he think he is allowed to flirt with me? I'm only seventeen for Merlin's sake!" I said, annoyed.

Andromeda wiped a tear from her eye, "You idiot, that was the prime minister. A disgusting man but a filthy rich man, any girl here would dream to be his mistress. Any insane girl that is."

I scoffed, " _Him?_ He's a dirty old man! Why would anyone go for him?"

Andromeda gave me a smile, "His status, love. Also he has a lot of money and you know what they say, money is the answer to success and darling and he, is your shortcut to success and money. Not that any smart girl would go after him, he's desperate, daft and divorced." She said, clucking her tongue.

I scrunched up my nose, "I would rather work for my success then ever go out with the likes of him."

Andromeda smiled, "Good thing we have that in common then," she glanced around the room, "I'm guessing you haven't found Sirius yet? I'm not surprised he usually hides at these parties. You'll have to really look for him."

I groaned, "I thought it would be easier to find him, I guess not. Do you know where he usually is?" I asked, hopeful.

Andromeda tapped her finger against her chin, "Hmm, no, not really. He changes it every year so his parents don't find him. Where are your friends by the way? I really want to meet them."

I shrugged, "I have no clue but something tells me the guy in front of the house didn't let them in."

Andromeda nodded, "Ah, that's probably it," she glanced at her diamond watch, "I would suggest looking for him fast because there's only an hour left before the party is over and he'll be trapped. Like a rat."

I nodded, "Or carrots. But yes, good idea. I'm going to go look for him." I said, sighing as I walked out of the curtain. In that exact moment I caught a flash of dark hair move towards a room. He was so quick that if I hadn't been looking in that same direction I probably wouldn't have noticed him. I grinned and tried to make my way over there without looking like a crazy lady.

He reached the balcony and shut the door swiftly. I rolled my eyes and unlocked the door and there he was. Sirius was giving me his back and leaning towards the window.

"Sirius! I've been looking all over for you." I said, sighing and he turned around and it wasn't Sirius.

It was an honest mistake. Anyone who wasn't paying much attention (me) would probably think that it was the same person, but it wasn't. They shared the same shaggy, dark hair and they were equal in height but he had blue eyes, blue eyes that were so close to grey that you would think they were grey if you were standing farther away.

"Regulus," I gasped. It was Sirius's brother, he was a year or two younger than him. I was not close to him but from what I did know, he was closer to his parents than Sirius was, he was basically the favourite child.

He gave me a confused look, furrowing his forehead as he took in the fact that I was here. "Winnie? What are you doing _here_?" He asked, glancing behind us with worried eyes.

I wasn't sure whether I was surprised that he called me Winnie or the fact that he was actually civil. I had always assumed that he was stuck up and bratty, because, well, that's the impression he gave off. That was the impression his whole family gave off.

I brushed my hair out of my face, "Well, I'm looking for Sirius. Do you happen to know where he is?" I asked, politely.

I wasn't sure whether he was listening or not, because he seemed to be studying me very intently. "Did you do something with your hair?" He muttered, eyes still on me.

I instinctively touched the strands of my wavy hair and nodded, "Um, yeah - I made it wavy." I responded unsurely. I did not see what this had to do with finding Sirius. Or with anything, really. "So do you know where he is or..?"

Regulus stroked his bottom lip, "Personally, I liked your hair when it was curly. I think it made you different. But, this is good. It looks nice. You look nice." He said, smiling playfully.

I then realised what was going on. Regulus was flirting with me. Nope, nope nope. This was not going to happen.

I nodded, "Thanks but you know what? I have to go. It was nice talking to you." I said, turning to leave but he quickly tugged on my arm, making me look back at him.

Regulus ran a hand through his hair, "Wait, wait - look, I wasn't trying to make you uncomfortable or anything. It's just, I've never spoken to you before. I wanted to know what you were like." He said and I didn't know why but I believed him.

I crossed my arms, "Well, you could have just asked. I'm like the most easiest person to approach. Ever. Like if there was an award for being the easiest person to approach, I would win it."

Regulus shrugged, "How would I know? Like I said, I've never spoken to you before."

"Well, you can talk to us. We're nice and approachable." I confirmed, with a small smile.

Regulus laughed, flashing me a pearly white smile. "It's not you, it's Sirius. You're always with him, I can't talk to any of you." He said, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his perfectly tailored suit.

I blinked. Was he being truthful or was he trying to get me to feel sorry for him? I mean, in one aspect. Maybe he did want to get to know us. But on the other hand, I couldn't forget the fact that he was a Black and you had to be cautious with the Black Family. Especially when you had a family like that.

"Well, then maybe you should try." I said and then turned around but then paused, "I'll see you around Regulus." I said and left before I could hear him retort. Well, that was a strange conversation.

I could still not see any of the guys so that meant that ultimately, it was up to me to get him out. Which was a lot of pressure, now that I thought about it properly.

A woman's arm suddenly laced with mine, "Darling, how would you feel about marrying my son? He's about your age, a dashing young man, really." She said, pulling me into a corner of the room where a bunch of women sat.

I almost gaped at her but luckily I didn't let myself do that, "No, thank you." I muttered trying to remove her grip on me. "I am not interested."

She gave me a strange look, "Then why are you here?" She narrowed her eyes at me. "Oh, you've already chose one, haven't you?" She said snottily. She had perfect porcelain skin and thick, brown hair. But her eyes were cruel, harsh even. If that was how she was I couldn't imagine what her son was like.

I didn't know what she meant by that but I nodded in agreement, I just wanted to get away from her, find Sirius and then leave. It was like today was talk to Winnie day and it felt like every time I tried to find Sirius, something or someone appeared.

She gazed at me, intently. "Are you British? You're a bit dark,"

I wanted to slap her right there and then but I held myself only because there were children present, "Yes, but my mother is Spanish." I said truthfully.

She lazily looked at me, as if I was wasting her time. "So you speak Spanish then?" she said, boredly.

I tried to supress the urge to punch her, "Si," I said abrupt. "But I'm used to speaking English, since I was born here," I said, flipping my hair. If she wanted to be a bitch then I could be one as well.

"Hmm," She twirled the drink in her hand, "How am I supposed to find a wife for my son when everyone is already taken?" She muttered to herself.

My eyes widened. Internally of course. Oh no, I knew what this lavish party was. It was a party where mothers found suitable wives for their husbands. Not a common practice these days but I assumed that the Black's were not like other people. This was why there were so many women here and why the old man tried to flirt with me. He was trying to marry me!

"Girl, what did you say your name was?" The woman said, putting down her drink and turning to me.

I shook my head, "I didn't. Excuse me, there's somewhere I need to be." I said and left abruptly.

Thats when I realised how many women were eyeing me, it wasn't out of envy. I was just one of the girls who they deemed suitable for marriage. I was only seventeen, for Merlin's sake. I almost regretted wearing such nice clothes. Almost. I still felt extravagant. I looked around the room trying to see if I could find Andromeda, or someone. Anyone.

The violin choir suddenly changed the song and I groaned, it was time to dance again. I surveyed the room, trying to find a place to escape. It was like my prayers were answered because I saw a balcony, hidden by a long curtain. If the door wasn't open, I was certain that I would not see it. I picked up my dress and pushed passed the dancing people and rushed to the balcony, I wasn't even going to try to hide the fact that I wanted to get out of there. Then and there I understood why someone would hate such a life.

"It's occupied." A voice said, the voice I had been looking for the whole night. "Find somewhere else to hide, lady." Sirius Black was facing the balcony, over-looking a vast garden and I was certain that it was him this time. He had a cigarette in his hand and his shoulders were slumped, he looked deep in thought.

I scoffed, "Sirius Orion Black, you do not get to tell me what I can or can not do." I said, standing behind him. "Especially since I've been looking for you all bloody night!"

Sirius Black froze for a minute, then his back suddenly straightened up and he slowly turned to me, a combination of emotions on his face. But what I could recognise was shock and happiness.

"Please tell me that you're real and that I haven't had too much to drink." he whispered huskily, flicking his cigarette into the garden as he wrapped his arms around me. "How did you - what the hell are you doing here?" He asked, laughing.

I laughed along with him, "This is real. Wait, why are you asking - Sirius, have you been drinking again?" I asked, worry suddenly taking over me.

He ran a hand through his shaggy hair and I noticed that there was a purple bruise on his neck, not any bruise. A bruise you would get from being strangled. It was the same bruise he got last year, one he said he got from falling down. I shuddered as an icy feeling traveled up my back, making me get goosebumps. It was fresh too, I would say about a day or two old. He was being abused again.

Sirius swallowed, "You know that drinking is the only way I can make it through this hell." he said, looking at me. "Merlin, Winnie. You have no idea how good it is to see you." he said, eyes shining.

I laughed to stop myself from crying, "It's good to see you too, Sirius."

Sirius looked at me, like really looked at me. "I can't believe you're here." he said, shaking his head as if he couldn't believe it. "Thank Merlin you're here."

"Well, it's a good thing I'm here then, because we need to really go." I said, tugging on his arm.

He gave me an odd look but then realisation dawned on him, "Are you trying to get me out of here?" he asked, an ecstatic grin on his face.

I nodded, "Obviously! why do you think I'm here? To marry one of your fine cousins?" I scoffed. "As if!"

He grabbed my arm, pulling me back gently. "Wait, I can't. My wench of a mother told the guards not to let me out, no matter what." He said a sad look on hi face.

I gasped, "That smart she-devil! How are we supposed to get you out of here?" I asked no one. "You know, James and I didn't really think this through that much. Or at all, honestly."

Sirius bit his lip, "I have an idea but you might not like it that much." he said, and pointed to the balcony. "We can jump down."

I gaped at him, "Are you insane? I don't want to die, thank you very much!"

He threw his head back in laughter, "Merlin, I haven't laughed in days." He said smiling fondly at me, "But no, you won't die. Reg and I used to jump from here and we'd always be fine. There was the occasional broken leg and wrist, but if we're speaking generally then yes. It's okay."

I could feel my heart pumping, a rush of adrenaline being released into my bloodstream. "Okay, let's do it." I grinned.

Sirius chuckled, "That's it? No we can't it's too dangerous?" He asked, leaning towards me.

I scoffed, "No, who do I look like? Remus?" I said, taking off my heels and throwing it over the balcony, one at a time. I made sure to see where it went so I could collect it when I was down.

"But, you might ruin your dress. Are you okay with that?" He asked, looking at the material of my dress. "It's actually quite pretty."

I shrugged, "The experience is worth it, Paddy. Besides, it can be cleaned. Let's do this!" I said, ready to jump but he grabbed my arm.

"Wait, you bloody idiot. You can use a spell to make it easier to land. _You're seventeen_." Sirius said, laughing at how excited I was.

I nodded, "Right! I'll do it when we jump. Ooh! you know what? let's jump together." I said, bouncing up and down.

He grabbed my hand and nodded and we stood on the balcony and he looked over at me, "Jump!" and we both jumped at the same time. Instantly, I was in the air. My hair was moving in all directions, my heart was racing - it felt like it was going to jump out of my chest and there was an intense pit in my stomach, I wasn't sure whether it was from fear or excitement. I screamed and put my hands up, appreciating the fact that I was literally flying! We were accelerating towards the ground and I could see clearly, the flowers and trees that lay beneath us. I looked over to Sirius who seemed to be a concoction of emotions. I somehow grabbed my wand and pointed at the ground and loudly said the cushioning spell.

We briskly landed on the cushion with a loud oomph! My body was shaking from adrenaline and I felt like I had enough energy to run three marathons.

I turned to Sirius, a huge smile on my face. "That was brilliant! We should do it again!" I said, looking up at the balcony.

Sirius looked mortified, "No. Definitely not. That was not as easy and fun as it was when I was a kid." he then matched my grin, "Merlin, I can believe it. I got out of there - Winnie, I got out of there! I'm never going back. Never." Sirius said happily.

I grabbed my heels from the bushes, "Really? That's it? Where are you going to go when school is over?" I asked, putting my wand in my pocket.

Sirius shrugged carelessly, "I don't know. But I'll figure it out." He turned to me and grabbed my shoulders. "Winnie, I'm finally free." He said, an expression I could not even try to explain on his face. The only thing I could muster was a smile.


	28. Chapter 27

**You guys! I just realized that Jack Falahee would make a GREAT Sirius face claim! He is adorable! Nina Dobrev would also make a great Winnie Powers. Just saying. What do you guys think? Also, prepare a box of tissues with you.**

Chapter 27

Sirius turned to me, "So where is everyone? You said James was with you?" he said, looking around the street. We were now in the street, wandering around trying to find our idiots, or friends as normal people called them. We thought that they would be outside Grimmauld Place but boy were we wrong, they were nowhere to be seen.

I shrugged, "I don't know, they were supposed to get in but I don't think the guard guy let them in. They're not very convincing." I laughed. Poor blokes.

Sirius was was holding his jacket over his shoulder and his shirt was messily unbuttoned, tie no where to be found which gave him a very James Dean, debonair look about him.

"So, how do you manage to get in? No, better question - how did you walk in there and leave as a single woman? You do know what the purpose of that event was, right?" he asked, amusement twinkling in his eyes.

I nodded, clicking my finger at him. "Yes! yes I do! I didn't at first but then I did when a lady asked me to marry her son. Also, did you know that the people at that place are incredibly rude? Especially the older women. Which is weird. Also, the prime minister hit on me. Oh and I met Andromeda and I met your brother." I said, laughing.

He stopped and faced me completely, "You met my brother?" He said, confusion on his face.

I scoffed, "Was that the only thing you got from that? How about the fact that a forty year old thought it was okay to hit on me? Or the fact that I met your cousin Andromeda, who is great by the way."

He shook his head, "What did he say to you?" I shrugged at him. "No, Winnie, I'm not kidding. What did he say to you?" His voice was filled with concern with freaked me out a bit.

"Nothing! He was just, oh yeah. He flirted with me. Then he told me how he never got to speak to me because of you - Oh." I said realising what he meant.

Sirius turned around, pinching the bridge of his nose. "That's what I thought. He did that to the guys too. Regulus tries to make anyone who's my friend turn against me. Also, you let him flirt with you?!" He asked, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

I rolled my eyes, "Of course I didn't let him flirt with me. Besides, we barely spoke." I said coolly. "I was looking for you the whole time. You're not very easy to find, are you?"

He laughed, "Hiding is my expertise when it comes to that place." he gazed at me, "You know, I'm a bit surprised that I didn't see you tonight, I mean you did stand out."

I nodded, agreeing with him. "Yeah, I know. I really should have worn that purple dress, but it was last minute okay! Besides, Remus said it looked nice.' I said, looking down at my green dress.

Sirius chuckled, "I didn't mean as in you looked out of place, I meant that you looked beautiful." he said,

I raised my eyebrow at him, suddenly lost for words. "Ah-huh, me too." I said stupidly. "I mean you too. You looked nice too." I said and in that moment my fingernails had become very interesting.

He laughed at my expression, "It does look nice, but it's awfully uncomfortable and itchy." he said, tugging the collar of his shirt which was already unbuttoned.

Before I could respond a loud yell was heard from the other direction, "SIRIUS ORION BLACK!" James voice rang out and I could see his figure along with Peter and Remus racing towards us. Sirius and I turned to each other and snickered as we watched them rush to us. Sirius opened his arms and James raced towards him and tackled him in a hug.

"Hi, James." Sirius said laughing as he hugged him.

He patted Sirius on the back, a big smile on his face. "Padfoot, I've missed you so bloody much mate. It's been ages!"

Remus laughed, "It's been ten days, you guys."

James rolled his eyes, "Quiet Moony! It's been far too long and you," he pointed at me "Why did you take so damn long? We've been waiting for over an hour!"

I put my hands up in surrender, "Hey, don't blame me! Blame Paddycakes over here, he's the one who's so hard to find. I had to look for him!" I derided.

Sirius cackled, "Paddycakes? Since when was that a thing?" he said, looking at the other boys who shrugged in response.

I put my hand on my hip, "Since I wanted it to be a thing, sweetheart." I said, grinning.

James gaped at me, shocked that I would say that. But Sirius wasn't as easily stunned, "Aw, that was cute, do that again." Sirius said, pinching my cheek.

I batted his hand away, scrunching up my nose. "Stop it, do you know how many guys asked me to dance with them? Like three! I'm practically irresistible!" I said, flipping my hair and laughing.

Remus laughed, "Oh wow, look out Sirius we've got a new manwhore in town. A woman-whore, actually you know what that's not very nice at all. Forget everything I just said."

Wormtail laughed, "Remus is so funny." he said making me turn to look at him.

I was still pretty annoyed at Wormtail and the fact that he had told James that Sirius and I were dating. It was one thing to gossip, another thing was to gossip about your friends. To your friend! It was like all the trust I had for him disappeared and now I could never view him as the same person again, he was just as secretive and reticent as he was when we first met him. You know what they say, the quiet ones are always the most dangerous.

"I hate people who gossip," I announced, without looking at him specifically. "It's tacky and rude." My eyes locked with Peter and he guped, which meant that he had gotten the message loud and clear.

Sirius tugged on his bottom lip, amused. "Winnie and I jumped off a balcony." he said, laughing. "It was terrifying but she enjoyed it."

Remus's eyes widened, "You did what? How'd you manage to do that?!" He asked.

I laughed, "I also rejected the prime minister and said no to a marriage proposal!" I smiled broadly.

James groaned, "I knew I should've been there - but you know what, the bouncer wouldn't let us in. Apparently he thought that we were trying to sneak in. Which we were."

Sirius simpered, "Hey, who was it that asked you to marry her son anyway?" he said, tilting his head as he studied me.

"Um," I tried to remember who it was, "I didn't get a name, but she was pale. Like really pale and she had dark hair, really defined cheekbones - scary eyes! Her eyes were scary, I didn't make much eye-contact with her."

Sirius went pale, "Did she have a beauty mark on her nose?"

I drummed my fingers against my chin, "Uh, yes! yes, she did. Is she your aunt or something?" I asked, swinging my bag up and down.

Sirius shook his head, roaring with laughter. "No, darling that was my mum."

My jaw almost fell off my face, "What? No. Merlin's green trousers - she's your mum?! You do know that your mother is trying to marry you off?" I said, disbelievingly.

James almost spat out the water he was drinking, "Your mum wanted to marry you off to Winnie? Your mum wants to marry you off? Why?!" James asked exasperatedly.

Sirius stuck his hands into his pockets, "She reckons it'll fix me if I end up marrying a pure-blood. Bet she had no idea that she wanted me to marry a muggle-born," He said winking at me.

I rolled her eyes, "Maybe she should realise the fact that there's nothing wrong with you but there is definitely something wrong with her."

"How far is your house, Winnie?" Peter whined.

I glanced at the streets around us, "Not too far, about two minutes or so."

James stretched his arm, "Good, because I am starving. Do you have anything to eat back home?"

I scoffed, "Of course I do! Who do you think I am?" I said, smiling.

"Winnie Powers, that's who." Remus said, grinning.

I laughed, nodding. "Damn straight!"

In exactly a minute we reached my house. As they all walked in and made themselves home, I took a moment to admire my house. The white paint, the much needed to be cut grass growing near the pathway, even the annoying neighbourhood cat that never seemed to leave our house. It wasn't exactly a five star hotel and it certainly was nothing like Sirius's house but it was home and I adored it.

I walked in a moment later to see them all crowded around Sirius.

"Did you see any pretty girls?" Peter said, hopefully.

He shook his head, "Not really, I was just trying to hide most of the time."

Remus was going to say something but then he stopped when he noticed something about Sirius, something that I had noticed earlier.

"Sirius, whats wrong with your neck?" Remus said making everyone (not including me) turn to look at him. I already knew what was wrong with his neck, or to be more frank what was wrong with his life.

Sirius stepped away from him, "It's nothing." he said emotionlessly.

We all eyed each other nervously. When he said it was nothing, that meant that there was something .

James grabbed Sirius by his sleeve and made him look up, "Sirius, what is that? Who did that to you? was it your father again?" James whispered the last part to him.

Sirius avoided everyones gaze and tugged on his sleeve. "No, no I fell down the stairs."

Remus scoffed, "I had no idea you could get finger marks from falling down the stairs. Quit the lies, mate. What really happened?"

James inspected the bruise, "Fresh too, when did this happen?" he asked, uneasily.

Now that I stepped back and examined Sirius, he looked different. He was different. Sirius was paler, the colour in his cheeks were gone and he had lost a significant amount of weight. His eyes seemed different too, his electric grey eyes were dull. He looked vulnerable. If this was the result of ten days then I could only imagine what happened to him when he was alone with them during the summer break or other holidays.

James put his hand on Sirius's back, which made him jump. "Don't touch me, please." He said, shutting his eyes.

I decided now it would be a good time to interfere, "You guys, can you all just relax for a second? Give the guy some space, he's obviously been going through a lot. Now, should I order pizza or Chinese food?" I said hoping I could deter the subject away from him for a moment.

James shocked me the most when he said, "Take off your shirt." to Sirius.

We all looked at James, "Oh, wow I didn't know you swung that way James." I laughed. "So no food?" I chimed.

James gave me a blank look, "No, seriously. Do it, Padfoot. Now."

Peter seemed to be confused, "Wait, James. Are you gay or not? I don't know what's going on." He asked, spinning his head to look at us.

"Shut up, Wormtail." I said, boredly and we all watched Sirius slowly remove his shirt.

Sirius's body had multiple bruising, all ranging from different colours. From deep purple to bright red, there was so much bruises that I just wanted to cry. His back was swollen and tender from all the injuries he had sustained. I couldn't believe a father could do this to his child. It wasn't parenting, it was torture.

" **Me cago en la leche**!" I exclaimed scanning his bruised and battered body, he had definitely lost a lot of weight. "Sirius, what the hell? Your dad did this to you? Did you fail to mention that your father was satan?" I said, biting the back of my hand.

Sirius laughed scornfully and put his shirt back on and then pulled out a cigarette, he lit it so quick I didn't have time to snatch it out of his fingers.

Peter turned to me, "I think that's the first time you've spoken Spanish this year." he said, giving me a small smile which I ignored.

James shushed us, "Mate, tell us what happened. Tell us what's happening. Please." James begged Sirius.

Sirius inhaled the smoke and then looked up, "It kept getting worse, It's like they wanted to get rid of me. So I drank and I drank and then I thought whats the point of it all? Yes. I was going to kill myself. I was going to commit suicide because I couldn't take any of this shit. I swear to you that if you didn't come get me out I would've been dead by now." He said bleakly.

Remus ran a hand through his hair, "Jesus, mate, you need to fucking tell somebody." he said looking at Sirius with sympathy, I think this was one of the only times I had ever heard Remus swear.

Sirius gave us a insouciant shrug, "Doesn't matter, I'm not going back there anyways."

Peter squeaked, "You're not going back home?" he had a look of pure shock on his face.

Sirius raised a brow at Peter and then leaned towards him, "Wormtail, mate. If I've learned one thing then it's that home isn't a place, it's a feeling. That place is not my home and it will never be."

I squeezed his hand, "You're always welcome here. This is your home too." I said with a small smile.

James nodded, "So is my house, you can stay over for as long as you want. In fact, you should stay with me. Mum loves you anyway."

Remus agreed, "Sirius you're welcome at all of our houses. What we're trying to say is, we're not going to abandon you and we care about you."

"Thank you." Sirius said, smiling at us, a smile that said more than his words ever could. "You have no idea how much you this means to me."

My eyes watered as I took in Sirius Black. He wasn't trouble, he was troubled. For once, it was like the facade was gone and I could actually see Sirius Black for who he truly was. A hurt and tired young man who had to survive with probably the worst people on this planet. I couldn't imagine how much he had endured. I couldn't imagine how much he had gone through. I knew that they were all feeling this way, I could tell by their expressions and I could tell by Sirius's expression that he hated it. I knew he hated people pitying him. I felt like it was up to me to lighten the mood, it was what I was best at.

"So," I stood up and cleared my throat, "Chinese food anyone?"

Sirius shot me an appreciative smile.

James realised what I was doing and immediately went along with it, he rubbed his damp eyes and put on his glasses before standing up next to me and saying:

"Definitely Chinese food, I haven't had Pad Thai in a while."

Remus noticed as well, "Pad Thai is Thai not Chinese, Prongs." He said, laughing slightly.

I motioned to the telephone sitting next to Remus, "Call them would you Remus?" Remus gave me a bored look but did as he was told.

Sirius gave him a half-smile but then our gazes met, "Where are your parents?" he asked, scanning the room just in case he missed them.

I put my hair up into a ponytail, "They're out of town with Greg," I then remembered something, "Oh! there's something I need to tell you. Privately," I said, my eyes flickering to Peter.

"Please, do not feel the need to confess your undying love to me," He said lightheartedly making me laugh.

"No you idiot," I said, pulling him from the couch and into my room. Once I got into my room, I peeked out of the doorway because I knew that they were nosy and were going to try and listen to what we were saying.

"What's going on?" He asked, flopping down on my bed. "Your bed is really comfortable." he said, stroking the blanket.

I laughed, "Okay, this might sound a little crazy but did you know that people think that we're together? _Secretly_?" I said, giggling.

He threw my pillow up in the air and caught it, "Yeah, of course." he said, throwing it in the air once more, "I thought you knew," he said, locking gazes with me.

I stared at him flabbergasted, "What? Really? Does everyone know about this except me?" I said, frowning.

He laughed at my surprised expression, "Probably," He lay down on my bed, "So what does this have to do with anything?"

I spun on my swivel chair, "Listen Padfoot, now this might be weird but can we pretend date?" I said and then proceeded to spin once again. "But not now! When we go back to school." I shut one eye waiting for his reaction, I kept the other eye open to actually see his reaction.

His eyes flew open and he immediately burst into laughter, "What? That's what you wanted to ask me? Merlin, you're adorable." he said, laying back down and shutting his eyes.

I threw the pillow I was sitting on at him, "What? what did you think I was going to ask?" I said, furrowing my brows at him.

The pillow hit his face and he sat up, "I don't know, but it definitely wasn't that. To answer your question, sure. Why not? You're the least irritable girl in my life right now."

"That's it? You don't want me to explain or anything?" I said,

He sat upright and gave me a passive look, "Why do I feel like you want to explain?"

I guffawed, "Because I do! Basically what I was thinking was that if I date you Mulciber won't have a reason to be suspicious of my sudden re-appearance with you guys! Isn't that such a good idea?" I said, beaming.

He nodded, "Yeah, it's great." then wrapped the covers around himself.

I stared at him stupidly, "Hey, can you stop sleeping in my bed?" I asked, tugging on the blanket off of him. "It's my bed for a reason!" Right there and then he reminded me of my brother Greg and his tendency to sleep in my bed when I was a kid. Actually no, even now.

Before I could pull the blanket off of him he quickly grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him, I watched as his eyes fluttered open to reveal grey orbs, that almost made my breath hitch in my throat.

"Winnie, you know what's really great? Try doing that," he said, smirking and I rolled my eyes at him, even though my heart was thrashing in my chest.

"Did you know that you're extremely annoying? Like all the time?" I asked him as he turned around, pulling the blanket over his head. Yep, there was no way he was getting out of here.

Secretly, I was glad.

* * *

 ** _Me cago en la leche: translated to I shit in the milk! but commonly used as holy shit!_**

 **To the Reviewers:**

 **Crazilitious: I'm sorry, but I don't think you have ANY idea how much time and effort goes into writing one chapter. I work hard to manage my academic career, family, friends and also still find time to produce a chapter on a WEEKLY basis. Also, as a huge perfectionist I have to ensure that each chapter I post is up to my standards and that it's actually good. So excuse me if I 'took too long' because I have a life outside of the internet.**

 **Kawaii-Jamu: I think that's a really good idea, especially Frank x Alice because I really love them together. Thanks for the review!**

 **GianBayni : Thank you for reviewing!**

 **Guest: Thank you for your kind words, I'm not sure if you're the same guest who left me two of the reviews but they genuinely touched my heart. Also, thanks for the idea of including more Benjy because I was really thinking of doing that and I wasn't sure whether I should or not, but I think I just might. Thank you for your support.**


	29. Chapter 28

**Prepare your tissues.**

Chapter 28

I squeezed the excess water from my hair with the towel an annoyed look on my face. I hadn't been able to take a relaxing shoer due to the loud roaring of laughter and noise coming from the living room. When I entered the living room the sight that lay in front of me was shocking to say the least. It was my parents, Greg, Sirius and James sitting together eating breakfast while laughing and looking like more like a family than our actual family. I approached them with my arms crossed and eyebrows raised.

"What is going on here?" I said, taking a seat next to Greg.

He passed me a plate of waffles, "Nothing, we were just talking - Sirius was telling us this story about how you once tripped and then made another girl trip who also tripped another girl - he said it was what? oh yeah, like the domino effect or something." He said and laughed, chewing on a piece of his bread obnoxiously.

I picked up a blue berry and threw it at Sirius, "You can't keep your damn mouth shut can you, Black?" I said, shaking my head at him in disappointment.

He dodged the blueberry with ease, "Your mum asked me about the funniest thing you did in school this year and I told her, I'm being honest that's all." He said, an innocent look on his face.

I shook my head, "That's where you're wrong mister! That was not the funniest thing I did this year, the funniest thing was when Professor McGonagall asked me how I was and I accidentally told her that I loved her." I said, buttering my toast proudly.

James snorted and almost spilled his pumpkin juice everywhere, "That was quite hilarious actually. That's it, you win, Winnie." He said, grinning.

I grinned arrogantly at Sirius who had an amused smile on his face, "I don't mean to sound rude or anything but what the hell are you two doing here? So early in the morning too!" I said, taking a bite out of my toast. "

My mother was the one who replied, "I invited them over, of course. Technically, I invited James but then he told me that Sirius is now staying with them so I told him to just bring him as well. You know what they say the more the merrier!" my mom said happily.

I turned to look at Sirius a huge smile on my face, "You're staying with James? for how long?" I said, incredibly relieved for him.

James put his arm around Sirius's shoulder, "Forever! He's staying with me forever." he turned to Sirius, "If you thought you could escape, you were wrong." he nodded, looking serious.

Sirius chuckled and I was glad that he seemed to be in a better mood since he left Grimmauld Place, he seemed to look better as well. His face regained the colour he lost, his eyes had that same mischievous glint and he was almost always with a smile. It was reassuring.

"Actually, I'm staying with James until I find my own place. I don't know how long that will take but hey, life's an adventure." he said taking a bite out of his food.

My father clapped Sirius on the back proudly, "A man who knows how to live,'" he said, fondly. "He's the son I need, not this one." My dad gestured to Greg who was lazily putting a spoonful of cereal into his mouth.

Greg scoffed, directing all our attention towards him. "What? Really, dad? I take extreme offence to that. Do you know how much I bloody to? I bring bloody honour to this family! He's a boy, I'm a man." Greg said, clapping his biceps to emphasise his masculinity.

My mother gasped and pointed her fork at Greg, "Language, Gregory!" she said looking ashamed at him, "Ignore him, would you? He's all fussy since he lost that last quidditch game."

I nodded, "Yeah, just like he lost the game before that and the game before that and the one before that as well." I said, throwing a berry in my mouth.

James's ears perked up, "Whoa, whoa, whoa - we all know that it's not your brother who's at fault, it's that new beater for Merlin's sake! What kind of swing is that? What's he trying to do? Catch butterflies?" James said, rolling his eyes.

Greg looked at James like he was his lover, "Yes! yes, exactly! That's exactly what I mean! Everyone thinks he's so great but he's cursed I tell you, we haven't won one game since he joined." Greg said, annoyed.

James scoffed, "You're telling me, I know mate. He must be cursed or something, he's ruining quidditch I tell you." he sighed looking disappointed.

Greg patted James on the back, "Don't worry about it, mate. This is just temporary. We'll be back to winning in no time, once this bloke's kicked off the bloody team."

I guffawed, "Greg, are you joking? The team literally changed their slogan from 'We shall conquer' to 'Let's all just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best',"

He rolled my eyes at me, "Oh just shut up, Winnie. What do you know about quidditch?" he turned to face James, "Hey Potter, want to play some quidditch?"

James looked touched, "Of course, of course I do." He stood up and the turned and pointed to his pancakes, "If anyone tries to eat that and I mean anyone, expect a bludger in your head." he warned.

Surprisingly, my father decided to stand up too. "I'm playing too."

Greg gaped at him, "What? Dad? Really? I've been asking you to play quidditch with me for months! now Potter wants to play and you're all for it? This is discrimination on all levels!" He said melodramatically.

My father rolled his eyes, "This is why I don't play quidditch with you," He said and I watched them all leave, James looked ecstatic he had probably been dreaming of this day since I had first introduced him to Greg.

Mum chuckled, "I have got to see this," she said picking up her tea and following them.

I smiled, for the first time in a long time I felt warm, happy and safe. I loved seeing them all together, I loved seeing my friends with smiles on their faces. I loved knowing that they were all having a good time, that they were enjoying themselves. Seeing them laughing, having fun. It was more magical to me than any spell could ever be.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Sirius said, taking a sip of his pumpkin juice.

I smiled back, "My thoughts are worth more than a penny. They're worth three pennies, or four." I moved the pieces of food around the plate with my fork, "How've you been?" I asked, sincerely wanting to know.

Sirius kept his eyes downcast but I could see his lips forming a smile, "Honestly?" I nodded. "I've never been better. For once, I feel like I'm in control of my life, I feel - I don't know, like I can breathe, if that even makes sense." he said, laughing slightly as he ran a hand through his hair.

I nodded, "Yeah, I do." I smiled. "Merlin, it's so good to see you like this, it makes me so happy to see you like this. When I saw you at the party. You didn't look like yourself."

When I looked back up at him, his eyes looked like they were shining. Not as in, he looked like he was going to cry. As in his eyes were sparkling, it was like the colour became more vibrant, if that was even remotely possible. He had a poker-face on but his eyes gave him away, I could tell that he was touched.

"That's because I wasn't myself." He laughed scornfully. "You know why I looked like that? At the party?"

I nodded attentively, "Yeah," I wasn't sure if I really wanted to know or not.

He went quiet for a moment, he seemed to be considering whether to tell me or not. He was taking so long, it made me wonder what he had to say. He then glanced up at me and licked his lips, "Because I was going to kill myself. That cigarette was supposed to be my last." his eyes flickered to me, a smile curling at his lips. "You can't imagine how I felt when I saw you."

I could feel my whole body shake, as if an electric current had just hit me. "You - you, you were going to - kill yourself?" I said, gasping. "No, but why? I don't - huh?!" I said, staring at my hands in confusion.

He ran a hand through his hair, "They say that everything happens for a reason, I never believed in that to be honest. But now I do, because if you didn't show up Winnie. If you didn't call out my name, I wouldn't be sitting here right now." he said, watching my reaction.

I felt hot tears slip out of my eyes, "You - you weren't going to tell me were you?" I sniffled, already knowing the answer to that question.

Sirius got up immediately and moved over to me, he placed a comforting hand on my shoulders. "Winnie, please don't cry-" he said, before I cut him off.

"I can't believe you thought about killing yourself. If you died, we would all die with you. You're - I just," I said, before I covered my mouth because I knew if I didn't I wouldn't be able to stop the sobs that were already trying to escape my throat.

Sirius brushed the hair out of my face, "I know, darling. I know. But I was looking for an escape and it seemed like the best solution. It wasn't, I know that now." He said, sincerely. But truthfully, I understood and he didn't need to explain anything to me but I didn't respond - I couldn't, because I knew the only thing that would come out of my mouth would be either angry slurs or choking sobs. Or the worst, a combination of both.

Sirius grabbed my hand and led me to my room, where he knew I'd explode. But I didn't. Not right away at least.

I grabbed the nearest pillow and started hitting him with it, " **Er** **es muy estúpido** " I said angrily and then stopped hitting him because I felt another wave of tears hit me, "If you - if you died, a part of me would die with you, Sirius." I said, my voice breaking. "I hate you." I said, wrapping my arms around him tightly.

He hugged me back just as tightly and since he was taller than me, he rested his chin on my head. I felt myself calm down in his arms, my breathing went back to normal and he released me once the sobs quietened down and I was reduced back to only sniffling.

"You alright?" he whispered.

"Idiot," I mumbled under my breath. "You're an idiot."

He laughed, "Winnie, I'm alright now. Actually, you know what? I'm better than alright. I'm free. I'm never going to go back to that. Being there made me lose myself, but it's not going to happen again. I can promise you that." he said squeezing my hand and I knew that he was being earnest.

I wiped my eye with my sleeve and I managed a small cough of laughter, "Good, because I don't want to live in a world where Sirius Black doesn't exist," I paused, "who else's eyes am I supposed to admire?" I added the last part to try and lighten the mood.

Sirius chuckled, "Was that a flirtation?" He said, nudging me gently. I could tell that he was trying to loosen the tension and add a touch of his relaxed air into the atmosphere, I appreciated it.

I nodded, laughing slightly. "Yes, yes it was. But I'm pretty sure you already know that I love your eyes. I've only mentioned it a thousand times." I said, rolling my eyes.

He nodded, a smile present on his face. "I do actually know how much you love my eyes, what did you tell me that time you were drunk? Hmm, what was it? Oh yeah," he paused, making his voice high-pitched, "Sirius your eyes look like the Moon and the sea combined together, if the moon and the sea had a baby it would be your eyes." He said, snickering.

I burst into laughter, clutching my stomach to stop myself from laughing so hard. "Is that - is that what I said? That's so creative! I'm hilarious when I'm drunk, why did no one tell me? But I stand by my drunk words!" I said, slamming my hand down on the bed.

Sirius's eyes gleamed with amusement, "I'll tell you. You're a hilarious drunk."

"Damn right I am, I'm also really smart, nice and amazing." I said, with a cocky grin, "Hey, can I ask you a question? You know what, it doesn't matter I'm going to ask you anyway."

He shrugged, "Alright, ask me whatever you want." He said, propping himself against the wall.

"Okay, now I've been thinking - you know how I asked you to pretend to be my boyfriend once we go back to Hogwarts? I realised, we have to 'do things'" I said putting up air quotations, "Isn't that a bit weird?"

Sirius laughed, "You mean like kiss? Of course I realised it, I'm surprised it took you this long."

I rolled my eyes, "I actually meant like hold hands but yes, that too! How are you so chill about this?" I said, feeling my face grow warmer.

Sirius's eyes lazily flicked up towards me, "No, it's not." he then laughed, "I'm chill about it because this is nothing compared to other stuff I've done. I'm Sirius Black," he said, grinning.

I rolled my eyes playfully, "What I meant was I don't want people thinking that I'm one of your little playthings, okay!" I erupted.

Sirius's eyebrows rose, "My little what?" he said, trying to stifle his laughter. "That's what your worried about?" He said, laughing so hard he almost fell off the bed if I hadn't pulled him in time.

"Careful you idiot," I said, laughing too. "But seriously and honestly. Sirius, you have a reputation, which I'm sure you're aware of - I just, I don't want to be like all the other girls you've ever went out with." I said with a small frown.

He went quiet for a moment, "You can't be like all the girls I went out with, because you're nothing like all the girls I ever went out with. Besides, why should you care what other people think? " He said, a small smile on his face.

"I don't but at the same time I don't want people to think things about me, I mean people hate me enough already and I just want to - I kind of want to break the stereotype, I guess? I want to be different." I said, chuckling.

Sirius laughed, "Winnie, you are different. You want to break the stereotype? Just be you, you break enough stereotypes by doing that. You're Winnie Powers for Merlin's sake, there's no one like you. You're different, embrace it." he said with a shrug.

I was impressed, he knew me better than I thought he did. "Maybe, you're right. Actually no, you _are_ right. Thank you, you made me see things coherently again." I said smiling.

He gave me a fond smile but he didn't reply and neither did I, we didn't feel the need to. I felt like the relationship between Sirius and I had advanced, from an awkward atmosphere into a beautiful silence. I had always thought that when it was silent, you were supposed to talk. To fill the void of silence, but with the right people, the right person - you didn't have to fill the void, you didn't have to speak because without even having to utter a single word, you both understood each other. Perhaps this was the beauty of a comfortable silence.

"If you ever want to talk, you know I'm here." I muttered, letting my eyes wander off to him.

I studied his face from the side, his eyes were gazing downwards and I could see a smile ready to emerge on his face. He was sitting so casually, but he looked beautiful. I wasn't sure if you could call a man beautiful, but if you could. It would be him. I had never admitted it to him but sirius's beauty intimidated me a little. With his perfect, long nose and defined cheek-bones, I always felt like I was a bit bland standing next to him.

I was sitting so close to him that I noticed for the very first time of the freckles that danced around his face, I gasped and grabbed his face suddenly so I could see his face as a whole.

"What are you doing-" Sirius said, confused before I covered his mouth with my hand.

"Quiet, I'm trying to see if you have freckles." I said, laughing at how ridiculous I sounded.

I inspected him face closely and I was right! He did have freckles, scattered all around his face but mostly on his nose. But they were very close to the colour of his actual skin which was why I had never noticed them before.

"You have freckles! That is so cute!" I cooed. "You are so lucky, I wish I had freckles."

The door suddenly slammed open and our heads both snapped at the door where James stood, at first he had an excited grin on his face which turned into a look of pure confusion and shock. I then realised the compromising position he had caught us in. My hands were on Sirius's face and to someone who had not heard our conversation, it seemed like I was grabbing his face - to well, kiss him.

I immediately let go and shot up from my bed, "This is not what it looks like!" I said, jumping up and down.

James didn't look convinced, "Are you two shagging?!" he asked, looking between us.

My eyeballs almost launched out of my head, "NO!" I turned to Sirius, "That is literally the complete opposite of what you think!"

Sirius threw his head back in laughter, "I'm not sure what's funnier, Winnie's reaction or James's accusation." he laughed, shaking his head. "No, no, definitely Winnie's reaction." he said grinning.

I glared at Sirius, "Sirius! focus!" I looked at James, "Nothing happened, okay! This is taken out of context." I said trying to make him understand.

James narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "I don't believe you, your face was inches away from his." He said, plainly. "You were literally holding his face, in your hands."

I groaned, realising how that probably looked in his head. "I wasn't trying to kiss him, though! You don't understand." I said, jumping from annoyance. "This is not what you think."

Sirius laughed, "We're not shagging, I promise you that."

James looked so annoyed, "Okay you're not shagging, so what are you two? Are you together? You know what - I know what this is, you didn't want anyone knowing. Smart bastard. That's why you told me you fancied her yesterday? to drop me a hint? How thick d'you think I am?" James said, pacing around the room and then looking at Sirius.

There is a moment in every person's life where something absolutely shocking can happen. It can be so shocking it can make you question if it actually happened or not, perhaps it was a dream. Or a hallucination, you might say. But, the truth about that was those shocking moments were neither dream nor myth, but reality. This was one of those moments.

"Wait what?" I exclaimed. "You fancy me?!" I directed my question to Sirius.

Sirius said nothing but turned to glare at James sharply, before lowering his head and avoiding everyone's gaze.

James then glanced between us, confusied. That was before realisation slapped him across his face. "Oh shite. You didn't know, did you?" James asked rhetorically.

"Not really." I muttered.

* * *

 **Translation:**

eres muy estúpido / you are so stupid


	30. Chapter 29

**So, this story after careful consideration, has decided to turn into a Sirius x Winnie story (Swinnie?) I know that not all of you will be happy with this decision and I'm okay with that. To all the ones who have been shipping Swinnie since day one. Here you go! At first I was not going to turn it into a Swinnie story I felt like their personalities were too different and I was eventually going to make James the one for her. But, then I realised. James was a lot like her, which was why they were perfect for each other - platonically! They were so adorable in a way that I never wanted to ruin with something as intense as love.**

 **So when I was re-reading my work. I realised something. I noticed that Swinnie's relationship had REALLY developed over time into something spectacular. At first, they were always annoyed at each other, but then when they started connecting, really connecting - their relationship progressed from a normal friendship to an emotional connection which I really loved. I feel like together they balanced each other out, they complimented each other in strange ways but good ways. I just, I really love them together. I feel like this is right. I hope you do too.**

Chapter 29

"This is awkward." James said mostly to himself. "Yeah, you know what. This is really awkward, I'm going to leave now." he said and quickly stepped out of the room, shutting the door behind him. If it was awkward with James in the room, it was nothing compared to how it was now.

I bit my lip and then turned to him. Sirius and I looked at each other, unsure of what to say. The once comfortable silence was gone, now replaced with an awkward tension in the air. He looked like he wanted to say something, but didn't. So I had to take the initiative and ask.

"So- you - eh, fancy me?" I asked unsurely. I didn't know why I felt so satisfied, maybe it was the fact that he liked me and not the other way around, maybe it was because this was Sirius Black, the one everyone pined for. He didn't fancy all the other girls who lusted after him, who would literally jump at him, he liked me - which was strange to admit but also incredibly satisfying at the same time.

Sirius tilted his head and gave me a look that was stating the obvious. He then said, "As someone who is very observant, you're blind when it comes to love aren't you?"

"L-love?" I choked. "What love - I thought you liked me, not loved me." My heart was accelerating, and I could feel goosebumps appear on my arms. I wasn't sure how I managed to utter that sentence without wanting to run far away from here. Some people got butterflies in their stomach, but it felt more like a parade happening in my stomach.

Sirius stood up, "Of course I love you, I've always loved you." he said as if it was obvious. "You've always known that." I wasn't sure if he was referring to the years of friendship we had shared or if he was talking about actual love. I wasn't going to ask.

I felt my face burn, "Oh, oh. Wow. I need to take a seat. No, never mind. I'm going to stand." I said, running a hand through my hair, "You - I, okay. When did you, um, wow. This is weird."

Sirius suddenly laughed out loud, "I thought it was obvious. I mean, everyone knows. Everyone except you, of course."

My head snapped up, "Everyone what?! What do you mean everyone knows? Why would they know? How would they know? Who told them? Was it Wormtail?" I said, narrowing my eyes.

"Sometimes people can see more than you can," Sirius smiled, "You know, it's kind of a relief. Now that you know, it doesn't feel like it's such a burden to carry anymore. Do you know how hard it is to be around you? I had to literally stop myself from kissing you." He said, laughing.

My jaw almost fell off my mouth and hit the floor, "Do I - what? It's hard to be around me? Have you seen you? You're flawless, with your eyes and your face- " It then hit me with a full force, "Oh my - Sirius, you really like me, don't you? Merlin just slice up my body right now and use it as bait. I just, wow. I don't understand. Why?"

Sirius smiled with his teeth, at my analogy. "Come on, Win. There are plenty of reasons why. But let me tell you the number one reason." he said and then I noticed how close he was standing to me. "You're the only one who sees me as a person, not a prize."

"You're not a prize, you're a person." I said, gulping and avoiding his gaze. It was awkward enough that moments ago he was confessing his love to me but now he was standing so close, I didn't want him to see my red face.

"Are you blushing?" He asked and I could practically feel him laughing.

"No, it's allergies." I said, coughing to prove my authenticity.

"Oh, is that right? What are you allergic to?"

"Love confessions." I said shortly.

I could hear him laugh and he gently grabbed my chin and lifted it so we could meet eye-to eye. I immediately felt my face heat up and I could see his grey eyes sparkling from amusement.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" He said, knowing the answer to that question.

I clenched my jaw, annoyed at how patronising he sounded. "No, you're not." I said, standing up straight. "Fine, let me tell you the truth. Sirius Black, because honestly from time- to- time I have felt things for you and I do love you but I don't know if I love you in a love way, but yes you are kind of cute and you do have nice eyes," I said quickly. "Do you understand?"

Sirius chuckled, "Not really," He then raised a brow at me. "I feel like there's more that you want to say."

I laughed awkwardly, "There's loads I want to say, it's just I don't know how to say it. I mean, no one's ever told me they loved me before. How do you do it? I mean girl's practically confess their love to you on a daily basis."

He pushed the sleeves of his shirt up and crossed his arms, "Well," he said, a arrogant grin on his face. "I usually just compliment them and say thank you, I find that it's the kindest way to reject someone." I could practically imagine him doing that.

"That's really smart, how did you come up with that?" I asked, laughing. He had somehow destroyed the awkward tension in the air, I didn't know how he always managed to do that, but he did, with such ease - it made me jealous.

He rubbed the back of his neck, "Hmm, let's just say it was a trial and error kind of thing. You know what? I can still remember the first time someone confesed to me, it was in first year. It was the second week, Kelly Ulder - the hufflepuff girl -"

I cut him off with a gasp, "No way! Kelly Ulder? The girl who always glares at you when she sees you? She hates you so much! Remember when she tried to start a rumor about you having lice! That was until your fan club got her. Now, she's practically invisible." I said, with a slight shudder.

He nodded, laughing. "Yeah, I know. So, like I was saying. Kelly Ulder and I had Herbology together and she confessed to me and you know what I said to her?"

I shrugged, "Would you like me to make you a sweater made of my hair?" I said, jokingly.

"No," He said laughing inwardly, "I looked at her and loudly exclaimed, I don't like boys!"

My eyes widened as I took in what he had just said, I put my hand over my mouth to cover the laughter that was practically pouring out of my body. I was laughing so hard, my rib cage was starting to pain me. I could not believe that had happened, I had never heard that story before. It was kind of nice. It made me see Sirius in a different light, a light I liked very much.

"You - I can't believe - That's," I went into a fit of giggles, "You actually said that to her?"

He howled with laughter, "Yeah, you wouldn't believe the look she gave me - she looked like she was going to murder me, she threw her textbook at me, I ducked just in time but it hit Harry Twingings, who now hates me."

I snorted, "Well, In your defence, she wasn't exactly a nice person. Especially to me. On the other hand, it might have had something to do with the fact that I was friends with you, now that I think about it." I said, laughing.

"You know what, it just might be because of that." He said sarcastically, "Sorry for ruining potential friendships with girls because of how attractive I am." Sirius said, laughing.

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, okay. Calm down there, Paddycakes. You're not that attractive, have you seen Dean Matthews? He's a metamorphagus! One day he's a blond, the other day he's a rainbow head. It's really cool."

Sirius looked insulted, " _Dean Matthews?_ Are you suffering from acute blindness? He's not even that great, besides, he's a metamorphagus! He can change his looks so he's probably not that good looking in reality." He said, annoyed.

If he hadn't confessed to me I was certain that I would've probably brushed that comment off, but now that he had confessed to me I could very obviously see the jealousy on his face.

"Are you jealous?" I said, already knowing the answer to that question. It kind of made me want to laugh and cry, I wasn't sure which one.

He gave me a blank look, "No, I just bloody hate that guy." He lied.

I laughed and then put my hand on his shoulder, "Sirius, you have a great personality. Thank you for liking me." I said, looking serious but I was sure he could tell that I was joking.

"Thanks - hey, did you just use my method against me?" Sirius said, his eyes widening with realisation.

I decided to reply in a Sirius-like fashion, "Oh good, you picked that up. You need to keep up, love." I said with a blatant wink. It was a strange sensation to act like someone else, but it was also very fulfilling.

He looked taken aback, "I don't know why that was so attractive." he said, looking confused.

I tried to stop the blush that was trying to appear on my face and said, "It was because I acted like you, you bloody narcissistic prick." I said jokingly. "Hey, I dare you to act like me the whole day and I'll act like you. We can trick everyone into thinking we took polyjuice potion or something." I said, grinning with excitement. Anything to distract myself from what he had just said.

Sirius's eyes gleamed with mischief, "Well, spit in my cup and call it water," He said smiling, "You see what I did there? You know what, to make it more realisistic call me Winnie and I'll call you Sirius."

"We should switch clothes to make it more believable!" I said, jumping up and bouncing with excitement. "This is such a good idea," I said, happily.

"Winnie, love. If you wanted to see me naked, all you had to do was ask." Sirius said, smirking. He said, trying to annoy me.

My jaw almost broke off my face, "What - no! Sirius!" I said, groaning. "You're so annoying, I hate you. Ugh, if I wanted to see you naked, I would let you know!" I said, rolling my eyes. "You know what, never mind. Keep the clothes on. We're not doing this."

"Aw, no - that was supposed to be the fun part." He teased, a huge smile on his face. "You know I'm just kidding, Winnie. I just like seeing you riled up, you get this look on your face - it's priceless." He said and imitated my shocked look.

I rolled my eyes, "Shut up, Sirius. You're just jealous because you don't have any emotions. You're like an emotionless cup. Or a spoon. Something like that."

"Emotionless cup? I prefer that one, it has more depth." He tilted his head, "You're not mad at me, are you?" he said, pouting a little.

"Cups don't have depth! that's why they're cups!" I looked at his face and laughed at how he resembled a sad puppy, "No, I'm not mad you numpty. I do have a question though."

He ran a hand through his dark hair, "Yes, I do use a styling mousse to keep my hair in place." he said, laughing. I was not sure whether he was joking or not, because he honestly did have perfect looking hair and that would explain it.

I chortled, "No," I said pointedly. "Earlier you were saying how it was hard to be around me without wanting to kiss me. How are you, I don't know. Resisting now? Especially now that I know." I asked, honestly.

He laughed, "Winnie, whether you knew or not, I was not, I am not going to kiss you unless you're okay with it. I'm not going to force you into a relationship with me," he said, earnestly. I could tell.

His words made my heart clench. "Were you planning on ever telling me?" I asked, staring intently into his eyes.

Sirius sighed, "No. I wasn't going to tell you." He said, looking sheepish, as if I had caught him in a heinous, unspeakable act. Sirius certainly had a way of shocking me.

"Why not? Is it because I'm so intimidating?" I asked, humour intertwined in with my words. I wondered if I was actually intimidating, though I was sure that I was as intimidating as a tiny puppy.

I awaited his response, watching how expression change as my words hit him. Sirius's face brightened with my joke, a soft smile making it's way on to his face.

"I didn't want to ruin our friendship. I still don't, you're important to me. Among other people," he muttered the last part, probably just to make it sound like it wasn't a big deal but I could very obviously see that I was important to him, which I've always known. But it was always nice to hear it, once more.

I nodded, "Okay, fair enough. How long have you liked me?" I said, shifting my weight from one foot to another.

Sirius tugged on the collar of his shirt and I could tell that he didn't want to answer that question, his eyes scanned the room before he looked at meand said: "Listen, how about I ask you a question and then can you ask me one. The rules are," He said, leaning against the wall. "We have to be honest here, no bullshit, no lies. How does that sound?"

I nodded, feeling excitement beginning to form in my stomach. "Okay, only if you go first." I said, tying my hair into a ponytail.

"Fine, let me think of something." He scratched the back of his neck, "What are you most self-conscious about?"

I could feel my breathing constrict because I already knew the answer to that question, I didn't need to think about it. It was something I had thought about countless times. It was so stupid but I had promised him that I would be honest.

"This is kind of embarrassing but," My eyes downcast, "It's my teeth! They're so weird and small, they look weird. I hate them. I feel like everyone looks at my teeth and thinks, wow. Those are some small teeth." I said, honestly.

Sirius started to laugh, "Is that it? I expected something worse. I think your teeth match match your face. I had no idea you were self-conscious about that. It's weird how people are like that, huh?"

I shrugged, "I guess, okay - my turn. What is something you have never told anyone before?" I asked, inching forward eager to hear his response.

Sirius's exterior changed, I could see the change in his expression. He leaned forward, but said nothing. His eyes were staring intently at the chair that was across the room, obviously thinking deeply about my question.

He eventually spoke, "My biggest fear is being lonely." his eyes flickered to mine.

I tilted my head at him, "Don't you mean being alone?" I asked.

He shook his head, a pensive smile on his face. "No, I mean being lonely. I'm alright with being alone, in fact I think it can be beneficial at times. Being alone is where you decide you want to spend the day alone, just because you want to be. But being lonely is different, you don't choose to be lonely. You just are. You can be in a room full of people but still feel lonely. Do you know what I mean?" He asked, giving me a small smile.

I was mesmerised. His words had certainly blown me away and I was sure that I had never liked Sirius more than I liked him now. The past couple of months I had seen more of him than I had seen in the last five years. Before, it felt like our friendship was barely scratching the surface, but now I was being exposed to a part of Sirius I had never seen before. A true, raw version of him. I had never realised how deep and thoughtful he was. I wanted him to be like this, always.

I nodded, "Yeah, I really do." I said smiling back.

"So," he said rubbing his hands together excitedly, "My turn, is it? Lets see - Oh, I got a good one. Winnie Powers, if you had the power to turn into one of us for one day - who would you pick and why?" He said, grinning.

I laughed, "That is a very good question! Give me a minute to think about it," I drummed my hands against my thighs, "Oh, I know. I'd be Remus."

Sirius looked shocked, "I take extreme offence to that. You'd be Remus? Why? You wouldn't be me?" he said, jokingly.

I grinned, "Yeah! Remus is great, he's popular but not too popular. He's warm and smart. Plus he's friends with practically everybody and a lot of people trust him. He's a good person. It would be nice to be able to be live one day as a genuinely good person, for a change. You're great and all, but I feel like it would be too tiring to be you. No offence."

He gave me a strange look, "What do you mean? Why would it be tiring to be me?" he asked, he didn't have an angry expression on his face, but an expression of pure interest, but that didn't mean I wanted to tell him.

"Never mind, it's nothing." I said, not really wanting to tell him what I knew. "It's really not."

Sirius shook his head, giving me a blank look. "No, no tell me. Please. You're the only one who doesn't lie to my face, don't go starting now." he said, almost pleading me to be honest with him.

I sighed, "Because, well. It's not easy being you. Girls throw themselves at you, guys either hate your guts or just want to get close to you for popularity. Your family isn't the best and there's this pressure. This constant pressure to be perfect. You constantly have to pretend like you're fine, you always have to be happy. Sometimes I wonder how you handle it."

Sirius licked his lips, a thoughtful expression gracing his features. He was quite for a long time and I wondered if I had upset him. The same exact moment I was going to ask him if he was okay, he said:

"I don't. Handle it, I mean. Sometimes I do wish I could stop being Sirius Black. But there's nothing I can do. You were dead on the pressure thing, it used to bother me. But then I realised I didn't - I don't, give a damn what anyone thinks." he said, eyes flickering to me as he said the last sentence.

"How long have you liked me?" I asked, out of the blue.

His eyes narrowed at me in curiosity, "Why do you want to know so badly?" an amused smirk playing at his lips.

Before I could think up of a witty lie, my mouth spoke before I could process everything. "It makes me feel special." I spoke truthfully, the same second I plastered a hand across my mouth to keep myself from saying things like that, ever again.

He kept his gaze locked with mine, "You are special." he said, softly - in a way that made my heart pang.

I smiled because I knew if I spoke, or removed my hand I wouldn't be able to stop myself.


	31. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

"Winnie, I don't think I've ever seen someone this excited to go back to school," Greg said, eyeing me up and down suspiciously. We turned a corner, and made our way into the infamous platform nine and three-quarters. I wasn't exactly excited to go back to school, but he didn't have to know that.

I laughed at his remark but said nothing, instead focusing all my energy into pushing the extremely heavy trolley. Greg sighed as he saw me struggling with the heavy trolley and pushed it for me. I quickly thanked him then let my eyes scan the crowd, I was hoping to find at least one of my friends. But, it was packed with people making it difficult to find anyone. I was sure that if I wasn't clinging onto Greg's jacket that I would've lost sight of him too.

The rest of the holidays had been a blur, during the middle of the holidays my mother insisted that we go visit my aunt, who lived three hours away from us. That meant I hadn't gotten to spend time with my friends and instead had to babysit a bunch of bratty kids who seemed to never stop whining, screaming and/or crying.

The last time I had seen Sirius was when he had told me he fancied me, it was still a shock but my lack of a soul really helped me adjust to the situation. Just kidding. Everytime I thought of Sirius my heart began to accelerate and then I did whatever I could to stop thinking about him, which was a lot harder than you would think. I wasn't sure how to behave around him now, especially since I had told him to act like we were dating when we returned to Hogwarts. Was I supposed to be friendly? Was I supposed to kiss him? Hug him? I wasn't sure and the more I thought about it the more terrifying everything seemed.

"Winnie, look out!" Greg said, before sharply pulling me away. "You almost bloody hit that old lady in a wheelchair!" He said, stifling his laughter.

I winced at the old lady and gave her an apologetic smile, "Sorry, I'm sorry, lady! Hey - can you see any of my friends?" I asked, redirecting the conversation to a more important subject.

"No, but who bloody cares - you'll be seeing them every day for the next six months or so, anyway. Shouldn't you be worried more about me? Your brother? who you rarely see?" he said, sardonically.

I scratched the back of my neck, "Sorry, Egg. You know, we still haven't spoken about Emily. You know, your ex-fiance?"

Greg clenched his jaw, "Shouldn't you be getting on that train?" I could very obviously see how his body language had changed, he was doing what he always did. He was shutting me out. Underneath Greg's witty exterior, he was vulnerable. He just never wanted to admit it. I guess it was hereditary because I was that way too.

I rolled my eyes at him, "The train can wait, Greg - what the hell is going on? You never want to talk about Emily, every time I start a conversation with you about her, you just shut me out!" I said, crossing my arms.

He gave me a blank stare, "Merlin, what do you want me to do? Tell you my feelings while we watch a movie and eat sushi? I'm not like that. You're not like that. I don't want to talk about it, I don't want to talk about her." He sighed frustratedly, "Look, I don't want to fight, Winnie. Just go, get on that train." he said, motioning to the train behind me.

I shook my head, keeping my feet firmly on the platform, "No, not until you tell me. You better tell me now because you know how stubborn I am." I said, seriously.

He groaned and covered his face, "She fell in love with someone else, okay? Some weird bloke, who's in a band. Grey dogs or whatever," he said, annoyed. He then proceeded to push me onto the train, "Now go."

Usually, I would've argued and stayed to hear more details but the train was going to leave any minute and I couldn't wait another day so I coul get a train to go to Hogwarts.

"You," I said, pointing at him, "Better send me a letter with all the details of this little, love triangle."

He laughed, despite how he was probably feeling. "It's not a love triangle. But sure, alright. Just get on the bloody train and go to school, you prat. Get an education, why don't you?" He said, teasingly.

I laughed and nodded, "Alright, I'll try. I guess," I said sarcastically, I waved goodbye at him and moved away from the door, enchanting the bag to follow me as I walked.

A rush of familiarity sprouted in me and I could faintly remember the first day of sixth year, the excitement of seeing my friends, the happy students who were reunited - BUMP!

My shoulder felt like it detached from my body and I almost tripped from how hard that person was, but luckily I didn't. Oh, yes. The annoying people who never stopped bumping into me or into anyone else they deemed 'bump' worthy.

I felt rage bubble up inside of me and I quickly reacted, "Hey, why don't you watch where you're going! I almost tripped and died! Do you even care about the consequences of your actions?" I fumed.

The person who had bumped me, turned around quickly. My eyes widened as I took in who this person was. Shockingly, It was Marlene McKinnon. I hadn't seen her in a significantly long time.

Marlene's eyes shifted around me, "Oh, Winnie. Hi, sorry I was looking for Lily and Mary, I guess I got distracted." She said with an awkward laugh, everything about her signalled that she wanted to get away from me as soon as possible.

I narrowed my eyes at her, "I haven't seen you in a while." I said, laughing bitterly.

Frankly, I was hurt. We had gotten very close at one point and then she had just, disappeared. Ever since that fight the boys and I had in the great hall, she had avoided me. She turned her head when I smiled, looked away when I waved, she pretended not to notice me in the corridor. It was like she wanted nothing to do with me. The harshness of her betrayal reminded me of a fact that I knew too well, I could never trust anyone other than the boys.

Marlene picked at the strands of her hair, avoiding eye contact with me. "Yeah, I know. I've been like - really busy. Anyway, where are you off to? Are you going to sit _alone_?" She asked, raising her brows at me in a patronising tone.

I now realised why Marlene McKinnon was known as a bitch. I had always assumed that she was misunderstood, like me. That she was a sweetheart but needed time to show it. But I was wrong. She was just like every other girl I had befriended, a disappointment.

I scoffed, "No, I'm going to sit with the boys. I haven't seen my _boyfriend_ in a while, so I have to at least go and say hi." I said, a smirk playing at my lips. I felt, powerful in a way. I watched a mixture of emotions pass through her face. Shock, jealousy, confusion and then it settled on one specific emotion.

She clapped her hands excitedly. "Oh! you're friends with them again? After what _you_ did? Wow, that's true friendship. Hey, do you mind if I go with you? I really want to stop by and say hi." She said, looking completely different than how she was a minute ago. Marlene laced her arm with mine and shot me a sweet smile.

I couldn't understand how she did that. How she concealed her sadistic heart with a beautiful, bright smile. Her words stung like acid, piercing through my skin and leaving a hole in my already damaged soul. How could she say that? How could she look me in the face and mutter the cruelest words I had ever heard in my entire life?

"So, who is your boyfriend?" She pried, smiling.

I looked at her confused, "Sorry - what? No, of course you can't stop by. A second ago you acted like I was your worst enemy and now you're suddenly my best friend? Look, Marlene. Whatever you're playing, I'm done. You're pathetic and insecure and you need help." I said, pushing past her and making my way onto more important matters.

People always seemed to take me by surprise. It was strange how you could think that someone was your close friend - but they could easily turn out to be your enemy. It baffled me how easily it could be for someone to lie, to their friends, to their family. To themselves.

The thoughts slowly started to disappear, the closer I was to the compartment - the less thoughts I had. I glanced through the compartment door as I reached, James, Peter and Remus sat there excitedly chatting away. As usual when they saw me, they almost immediately attacked me with hugs and hello's, as well as asking me about what had happened when I had visited my aunt and her devil-children.

"You would think a three year old muggle would be cute, they don't know about anything. They're young. They have their whole lives to hate their existence. But no. Nope, you're completely wrong. Children are the worst." I replied, shuddering when James asked me about the kids.

Peter nodded, "Especially babies. All they do is cry."

James scoffed, "What do you think babies do? Solve mathematical equations?" he asked, rhetorically.

Peter laughed, "No, that's more like Remus's job." he said, throwing a candy bar at Remus.

Remus rolled his eyes, a playful smile on his face. "Ha-ha, laugh at the so-called nerd, but don't come crying to me when you realised you failed all your NEWT's." he said, pointing at each of us.

I grinned, "You know what, you guys call Remus a nerd - but there's a chance that you all might end up working for him, one day." I said, smartly looking over at Remus who was now smiling smugly.

"Ah, yes. A werewolf for a boss, what's more exciting than that?" Sirius's voice said, from behind us.

I could feel the goosebumps appearing all over my skin, almost as if they were activated by his voice. I didn't turn around and let my hair act as a curtain between Sirius and I. I could hear them all jump up and greet him, I could hear his loud laughter as he probably gets tackled by Remus and James. I just didn't have it in me to turn around.

"Well, that's no way to greet your boyfriend," Sirius said jokingly and I could practically feel his eyes on me. My face automatically began to feel hotter and I knew that I was blushing.

"What?" Remus said, gaping. "What is happening?" he said, eyes widening.

"Who's dating _who?"_ Peter spat, looking at both of us with a scarily confused look.

I clenched my jaw and turned around, "Damn it, Sirius. Must you ruin all good things in this life." I said, shaking my head at him. "Alright, settle down everybody." I said, standing up.

"I have an announcement," Sirius said before I jabbed him with my arm, "Sorry, love - we have an announcement. Winnie and I are dating! Isn't that fantastic?" Sirius grinned enthusiastically.

I shook my head, "No, we're _pretend_ dating, remember?" I studied his grinning face, "Bloody hell, Padfoot. You look like you've got a hanger stuck in your mouth."

"Sorry, it's not everyday you get to pretend date the girl of your dreams." He said flirtatiously with a wink.

I wanted to stop the smile on my face but I couldn't, "Okay, calm down there smiley. Listen, to everyone we are dating. To you guys, we are not. This is the only way - Sirius, I'm not even looking at you but I know you're smiling. Stop it." I said, turning around and pointing at a grinning Sirius.

Remus had an unreadable expression on his face, "I don't understand, why would you - James, what do you think about all this?" Remus said, looking over at a bored looking James.

His head snapped up once he heard his name being called, "Oh, I already knew." He said sheepishly. "Sorry guys, but it wasn't because they favoured me - I just saw them almost kiss that's all."

"Huh? You kissed? Since when have you been together? what is going on?" Peter said, in a state of utter incertitude.

Remus scrunched his eyebrows together, "Are you two together?" Before we could reply he answered, "Judging by your over all expressions and body language, he fancies you more than you fancy him, you probably don't fancy him at all." Remus said, psycho-analysing me.

I stared at him dumbly, "Did you just psycho-analyse me? I told you not to do that, Remus John Lupin!" I said, annoyedly. "Besides, you're bloody wrong about whether I do fancy him or not because guess what! I do fancy hi-" I said and then I slapped a hand across my mouth, when I realised what I had almost said. But the damage was done and they had heard it all.

James almost spit out the water he had just drank, "You what?" he said after swallowing.

"Exactly." Remus said wisely. "It was reverse psychology. I could tell that you both fancied each other but you being you, you would never admit it under the normal circumstance."

"Shit on a stick." I said, still staring at Remus wide-eyed. "You're a lot more deceitful than I took you for."

"This is extremely amusing for me." Sirius said, laughing.

"I have no idea what is going on right now." Peter muttered.

"Remus bloody lupin. I could kiss you right now." Sirius said, clapping him on the back. "But I wont, I like someone else." he said, looking over at me and winking.

I felt my face flush with embarrasment. I was not one of those girls who liked these things. I didn't know how to act. I didn't know what to say, or what to do. Merlin knows how I managed to have a relationship with Kenneth.

I scratched my neck awkwardly. "I need to go to the toilet. Good bye." I said, nodding at all of them before walking out of there.

This was too much for me as someone who was heavily guarded, it was like they had taken a peak into, well - my very soul. I did not feel comfortable knowing that and as usual, I did the thing I knew how to do very well. I ran.

"Calm down, Winnie. You can do this!" I said, pointing to myself in the mirror. "Stop being such a baby. Woman up." I said, hoping my words of encouragement were actually working. They did nothing.

Someone tapped on the door of the bathroom. I rolled my eyes, it was probably that first year who kept knocking on the door almost begging me to let her go to the bathroom. But I needed some time to think and I was certain that there were other bathrooms on the train.

I sighed, "Okay, Sandra listen. I've told you three times that there's another bathroom on the other side," I said, loudly and then walked over to the door and unlocked it, pulling it open. "If you really need to go that badly - Oh." I said and then stopped when I realised it was not Sandra standing outside the door, it was Sirius.

"Hi, there." he said, leaning against the door frame. "That's quite a long time to be in the toilet, don't you think Dot?"

"I don't conform to society," I said and tried to close the door, but he stuck his foot so I wouldn't be able to close it. "Remove your foot or I'll crush it, Paddycakes." I growled.

He laughed, "Alright, Winnie. What's going on?" He said, a grin still plastered across his face. "Or do you want me to answer that question?"

I crossed my arms, "You know me well enough, answer your own bloody question." I said, fumbling around with my sweater.

Sirius cleared his throat, "I think that you're scared, because you're not used to being in a fake relationship. I'm here to reassure you and to say, don't worry about it. Listen, Winnie darling - I'm going to tell you a piece of advice my good old Uncle Alphard told me. Do whatever you want in life, just do it well. I find that this advice applies to all things." he said, ending his sentence with a casual shrug.

I laughed, "He sounds like a wise man."

Sirius shook his head, "Nah, he was a heavy drinker with an enormous beer belly. But he was the closest thing I had to a dad. A real dad, that is." he corrected himself.

I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, "You were right. What you said." I nodded, eventually. "I am scared. I don't know how to be in a relationship, let alone a fake one." I said, laughing slightly.

Sirius gently grabbed my shoulders making me look at him.

"Stop being afraid, Winnie. Because there is nothing to be afraid of. I'm not some psychotic killer or a stranger. I'm Sirius, you know me, I know you. Stop letting fear control your life, stop running away." He said, staring deeply into my eyes.

I could feel the heat rushing to my cheeks, he knew exactly what to say to me sometimes and it kind of took me by surprise. It shocked me how someone could know me so well. He saw through my loud, sarcastic exterior - he saw me and he wasn't bothered by me, he accepted me. Sirius accepted me with my fears and my flaws, sometimes it felt like a dream. How could someone be this way?

"Do you want this?" Sirius asked, grey eyes shining with concern. "Because if you are not the least bit comfortable, then we will find another way. I promise you that. We don't have to be together, if you don't want to." I knew that this must have been difficult for Sirius to say, I knew that he liked me. The fact that he was willing to put my needs above his own made my heart pang.

I don't know when it happened but I realised that our fingers were interlocked, noticing it caused my my breathing to hitch. I took a glance our our laced fingers. My heart was pumping so fast, I was afraid it was going to burst. All the fears that were stuck in my head, slowly began to fade away like a distant memory: a faint past. It was like he had somehow snapped me out of my daydream and brought me back to reality. A reality that didn't seem so horrible.

I grabbed his shirt and pulled him close, "If this is going to happen, let it be known that I was the one who initiated the kiss. Not the other way around."

"Wha-" he asked, confused but I shushed him with a kiss.

It was a simple kiss, but it didn't feel like that at all. I was suddenly aware of everything, the intake of his breath, the strong cologne that he always wore, his soft pink lips. I felt it all, It was like somebody had heightened my senses. Sirius wrapped his arm around my waist, deepening the kiss, our lips were synchronising in perfect harmony and I let it linger for a moment before I slowly pulled my lips away.

We both stared at each other, in an incredible silence. It was so calm, so peaceful. It was like the beautiful silence after a rainy day. There was no need to say anything to each other.

"Hey, Sirius - how've you been?" I asked nonchalantly as if he hadn't just kissed.

Sirius began to laugh, "I've been alright. Just had the best kiss of my life, how about you?" he said, following my lead.

I shrugged, "I think it might rain today," I said, chuckling to myself.

The train came to a halt, right there and then. I quickly grabbed on to Sirius so I wouldn't fall. I had completely forgotten about the fact that we were actually on a train, to Hogwarts. Our school.

"How about we get out of here?" he said and I realised in that moment that he never looked so content, his eyes were gleaming brightly with happiness and I was glad that even for a moment, I was the source of that happiness.

"Lets," I said squeezing his hand. "The universe awaits."

 **YAY! They finally kissed. Do not worry, this is not the end. But I do have to announce that I am taking a temporary break just to organise my life and get my stuff together. I have been feeling a bit unmotivated and stressed due to school and I really need a short vacation, don't worry though I'll be back and running soon. In the mean time leave me a review on what you think! Share your thoughts! I'd love to hear all your opinions.**


	32. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

"You know what, why don't you all just kill me. Finish me off, right here and now. At least I won't have clumps of my hair falling out and permanent bags under my eyes." I said, flapping my books around in the air.

Remus looked up from the book, "Well maybe if you payed attention in class things like this wouldn't happen." He said, a smug grin on his face. If he wasn't my best friend I would have thrown him out of the window.

"I feel like I'm going to bloody explode." James said, running a hand through his hair as he scribbled something down.

Sirius scoffed, "You're telling me - I'm so exhausted, the other day I woke up with books next to me. I had so much to do I actually fell asleep while working. Who does that? I used to wake up next to girls and now I wake up next to potion book volume six." Sirius said, sighing. He then turned to me and realised what he had just said, which gave me a wicked idea.

James turned to Sirius, 'You shouldn't have said that, mate." he muttered.

I raised my eyebrows at him, "Oh, so you miss waking up next to girls don't you?" I said feigning anger. I wasn't actually upset at him, I just loved seeing Sirius look panicked, it was genuinely amusing.

Sirius's eyes widened, 'Oh shite, sorry - I didn't mean it like that. I don't actually miss those girls," He said, awkwardly. "I forgot we were dating for a second."

"Oh really? Then why'd you say it, Paddycakes? D'you miss snogging Jenny Andrews in the broom closet or maybe Hellen Merrywether, what did you say about her? Quiet in the streets, wild in the sheets?" I said, narrowing my eyes at him.

Sirius's eyes darted between me and the boys who avoided his gaze, it was as if he was saying 'help me' with his eyes. Sirius turned to me, a look of pure terror on his face. I couldn't help it, I broke out into a fit of giggles. His face was too amusing, I couldn't resist laughing.

"I don't know what's happening right now." Sirius said, not sure whether to laugh with me or not.

"You think I actually bloody care about your past relationships, if I could call them that." I said, laughing. "Of course not."

Sirius looked so confused. "You don't? Is this a joke?" He asked, bemused.

I rolled my eyes, "Of course not, you bloody idiot. It's not about what you did, it's about what you do now. Remember that." I said, with a small nod. Sirius seemed to absorb my words like a sponge and his eyes flickered away from me and to the book in his hands, a pensive look on his face.

"Right, that's enough of that. We need to get back to studying. We haven't even began the goblin revolution," Remus said, a frustrated look on his face. Poor kid had been helping us all day.

We were sitting in the library having a group study session which basically consisted of Remus explaining everything we had missed over the past couple of months, which was almost everything. Our idea of studying was mainly trying to cram as much information into our brains over a short period of time, which never seemed to end well.

It was finals week, or as I liked to call it, The week of hell. It had only been a week since we had returned from the christmas break and here we were getting tested. That meant that we had to spend all our days and nights studying, revising and taking more notes than usual, which also meant that it was the end of our social life, or any life at all.

James rolled his eyes at me, "Winnie, quit the dramatics. You do this every year, you complain and nag and then end up getting one of the highest scores. We're the ones who should be complaining!" he said, ushering to Peter and Sirius who were staring blankly at their books looking like they had no idea what was going on, which was probably true.

I scoffed, "Oh is that right, James Potter?" I said putting my hands on my hips.

He nodded, pointing his quill at me. "Yeah, it is right." James said blatantly.

"Tell that to the big fat E I got on my last exam! My mum almost disowned me. You know what, that's it - no more sleep. No more relaxation. It's studying time!" I said, banging my fist on the table.

Remus laughed, "That's the spirit, Win! Now back to what I was saying, wood nymphs are known to-" Remus started to say before he was cut off by a loud groan.

Sirius ran a hand through his hair, "Remus mate, I'm sorry but I can't do this anymore, we need to take a break. We've been studying for ages!" he said, frustratedly.

Remus scoffed, glancing at the clock on the wall sitting opposite us, "What? We've only been studying for two hours, we haven't even covered the functions of mildew yet!" he said, looking at us in disbelief.

We all gave him a blank look, one that very obviously and loudly said, 'are you kidding me?'

Remus sighed, "Okay, I guess we can take a five minute break. There's a recent study that shows that taking breaks is very good, so yes. Let's take a break. Shall we?" Remus said, shutting the book reluctantly.

I put my hair up in a bun, "When I said I wanted to make this year the best year ever, this was not exactly what I had in mind." I said, staring sadly at the books that lay in front of me.

"Oh yeah, how is that going by the way?" Remus said, laughing.

"It's going quite terribly, actually. I feel like I have achieved and done nothing this year." I said, a frown on my face as I hugged my knees.

Sirius laughed, throwing a hand across my shoulder. "Hey, it could be worse. You could not be dating me." He said, an arrogant smile on his face. I knew that he was purposely trying to wind me up.

"Oh, however would I live." I rolled my eyes at him, "Oh, I know - quite peacefully." I said, with a small smirk.

Sirius looked at me like I was an alien, "How could you even say that? I don't know how you managed to utter those very words." He said, biting down at the end of his pen, still looking outraged.

"Wait, so are you two dating or are you fake-dating?" Peter said, tilting his head to the side.

Sirius and I made eye contact, "Both." We answered simultaneously which resulted in a victorious high-five and equally large smile. In honesty, we had no idea whether we were dating or fake dating, but we had come to the conclusion that we don't bloody care. We liked each other and that was what mattered, wasn't it?

James laughed, "Pete, mate - you need to keep up mate. Next thing you know they're married and you're still wondering when they went out on their first date!" He exclaimed.

I had just taken a sip from my water, "Marriage?!" I said, almost choking on the water. "Slow down there, Prongs." I said, while Remus proceeded to pat my back.

Peter stared at us, "Don't you two want to marry each other?" he said, a look of pure shock on his face.

Sirius leaned back into his chair, crossing his arms. "How am I supposed to explain it to your beautifully simple mind, Pete. Okay, how about this. Imagine the perfect couple, all happy and smiley. Imagine me taking Winnie to Madam Puddy's and maybe eventually getting married and having three children." He said, nodding. "Did you imagine all that?"

Peter scratched the back of his neck, "Yeah?" he asked, bemused.

James laughed, "I could not imagine that."

Sirius nodded, "Good. Now destroy all of those thoughts completely - or you know what, imagine the complete opposite of that. When you do, if you do. Then you will have successfully understood our relationship." he said, leaning back into his chair.

Peter stared at us, wide eyed. "Wait, do that again - I didn't imagine anything."

Sirius sighed and before he could repeat himself I cut him off. "What he means is that we are not the conventional boyfriend-girlfriend, you will never see me writing a love poem about how dark his hair is." I said, with a roll of my eyes.

Sirius laughed, "Or how grey my eyes are," He said, nudging me with a smirk on his face making me laugh.

Peter bit his lip, "I thought all girls thought about marriage and stuff." he said, looking confused and shocked, it was like we had just revealed to him the inner workings of a girl's mind, apparently every girl was different. Who knew?

I inched towards Peter causing him to blush, "You might not be aware of this Wormtail but every girl is different. Isn't that surprising? Especially to me, I am very surprised." I said sarcastically.

"Of course you would be, since when have you classified yourself as a girl?" Sirius said, jokingly.

"Why don't you swallow your tongue, you arrogant prick." I said, laughing. "Besides, girls vary. My perception of what a girl is can be completely different than yours. Besides, I hate labels!" I said, crossing my arms.

Sirius chuckled, "Oh, I love you too, Winnie Powers." He said, pinching my cheek. "Isn't she the cutest?" He cooed.

I scrunched my nose at him, "Do that again and I'll slice off your arm and use your blood as ink." I said, with a sardonic smile.

Sirius laughed, "Cute, right?" he said sarcastically to everyone making them laugh, including me.

I laughed, "If I were to define myself in the simplest terms, it would be cute and murderous." I said, a small grin on my face. "Or adorable and terrifying."

Sirius laughed, "You pretty much summed yourself up."

Remus looked at us, a baffled expression on his face. "You'd think that now that you're together, you'd - I don't know, be nice to each other? I don't think I've ever seen a relationship quite like this." He said, laughing.

I laughed. The day after we kissed, we decided we would make it public and official. We first told the guys, who were not entirely surprised and then we walked hand in hand to the Great Hall. It was kind of weird, I felt like some sort of celebrity - admitting my relationship with Sirius to the whole school. I couldn't help but notice the disappointed looks, admiring gazes and the horrible glares from his myriad of admirers.

 _"Relax," Sirius said, whispering into my ear. "There's nothing to be nervous about." he said, an amused smile playing at his lips. Even though my face was stoic, he had somehow picked up how uneasy I was. I didn't know how._

 _I gulped, "Who said I was nervous?" I said, feigning confidence as we walked down to the Gryffindor table. It felt like I was walking slower than usual or maybe the table was farther away. Whichever it was, I wanted to sit down as soon as I could and forget all the eyes that were following me as I walked._

 _He laughed, "Your hand is sweaty," he said, clenching my hand. Oh that's how he knew._

 _My eyes widened and I felt embarrassment inflate inside of me like a giant balloon. I wanted to swipe my hand away as soon as he said that but he gripped my hand before I was able to do that._

 _"Calm down, if you move your hand away like that it'll look suspicious and fake." he said, laughing as we continued to make our way to the table._

 _"Sorry about that." I said sheepishly, finally reaching the table. The table seemed to be filled to the brim with a variety of foods but the shocked looks from my peers were enough to make me forget about food though._

 _Sirius immediately began to dig in, he didn't even notice the looks he was receiving from other people. Either that or he simply didn't care. I wasn't sure if it which one it was, perhaps it was a mixture of both. I admired that about him, I always had. He managed to always look confident and collected, even when things were going wrong._

 _"Everyone is staring at me," I muttered to him, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "It's really uncomfortable." I said, honestly._

 _Sirius looked up and then finally noticed the people who were openly staring at me, Sirius narrowed his eyes at them and shot them an annoyed look._

 _"D'you need something?" He said, raising his brow at him. They all quickly turned away and focused on the food and their friends. I felt an immense weight off my shoulders and I felt like I could finally breathe._

 _Sirius eyes's seemed to gleam, the grey colour of his eyes seemed to be intensified by the subtle light of the candles floating in thin air. I had never gotten used to those candles. "Better?" He asked, an encouraging smile on his face._

 _I laughed for the very first time since I had walked in the great hall, "Very much. Thank you." I said, smiling and taking a sip of my pumpkin juice. I could still feel people's gazes on me, but for some reason - I didn't care anymore._

"Yeah, well - you thought wrong Remus Lupin!" I said, slamming my hand on the book in my lap. "Times have changed, this is the twenty-first century mate Keep up, won't you!"

"Yeah," Sirius said, agreeing with me. "What she said. I don't know what it was that she said, however I agree with Dot entirely." he said, with a nod. If he wasn't agreeing with me I would've scratched him for calling me Dot.

I leaned back into my chair, a satisfied grin on my face. "I feel kind of powerful," I said happily.

Peter scrunched up his eyebrows, "Okay so now that you're a couple -" Peter tried to say before I cut him off with a short sigh.

"You know what? I kind of hate that word. Couple. A couple of what? A couple of birds? A couple of chickens? A couple of trees? We are not a couple, there needs to be a better word!" I exclaimed, smiling.

Sirius lazily looked at me, "The Dream Team?" He suggested, nonchalantly.

I gaped at him, "Yes! yes! That's perfect. You're perfect - Wow, I'm so glad we're together." I said, grinning. "We're The Dream Team! I completely forgot about that." I said, happily.

Sirius smiled at me, but it was not his regular smile - the smile you would give to strangers you'd pass by in the street, or the smile you'd give when you meet your friend's parents for the first time. It was pure and raw adoration and happiness. It was smile you'd have on your face when you realise that you are _so_ glad to be alive, it was the smile you give to a person you hope will stay with forever. If a smile could say, 'I love you' then it would be his smile right now.

Remus cleared his throat, "Like I was saying, wood nymphs are known as dyrads or buckletruckles. They exist all across the wizarding world." Remus's voice said, pulling me back into reality and into real life mode.

I laughed and started taking notes on what Remus was saying, they all did the same. Ever so often, I would glance up and see Sirius staring at me. Almost, studying me in a way. It was not a creepy gaze, but kind of like he was trying to capture me to keep in his memory. We didn't say anything for the entirety of our study session, but our gazes were interlocked nonetheless. He still had a hint of a fond smile on his face, to a stranger's eye you would think he had just remembered something funny.

Despite the fact we were sitting with our friends and almost all the whole student body in the library and even though we were supposed to be studying, my eyes could not break away from his. It was like I was in a trance. My body felt like it was buzzing, honestly and truly buzzing like a bee. Buzzing with positive energy. I felt good, better than I had felt in a long time.

I felt happy. I hoped Sirius did too.


	33. Chapter 32

_**First of all, my heart goes out to all the victims of Paris and Lebanon. May god be with all of you, please stay safe.**_

Chapter 32

"Um," I stared blankly. "I'm not entirely sure how to answer your question. Actually, I have absolutely no idea how to answer your question. What is it you want, exactly?"

The girl standing before me rolled her eyes, staring at me as if I was an incompetent child. For someone who was five foot one with bright, really unflattering orange hair and a baby face - she was surprisingly intimidating. Her blue eyes bore into mine, she straightened her back once more and repeated in a bored tone.

"I want to know - no, I need to know why. Why are you going out with Sirius Black?" she said, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes at me - her behaviour sort of reminded me of how policemen act when they interrogate a criminal.

"Because we want to?" I said, bemused.

She did not seem to like my answer.

"No, but like - how, what did you do? Did you use a love potion? Whcih one was it the Gregory's formula or the Andrew Mackaby?" she said, listing off names I had never heard of in my life.

I wasn't sure whether she was serious or not, half of me wanted to laugh in her face while the other half wanted to punch her in the face. This girl looked about thirteen, fourteen at best. It was hilarious how she sounded so upset over the fact Sirius and I were together, but I noticed the pin on her blouse which was an obvious indication of why she was talking to me. The pin clearly stated in big, bold letters:

 **The Sirius Black Fan Club!**

 **Join Now!**

Ah, the infamous Sirius Black Fan club. I was their sworn enemy for years under false assumption that I was his secret girlfriend. They were all extremely irritating, but they seemed to be clairvoyant because they turned out to be right! This girl was probably trying to get information out of me to report back to the fan club. I really felt like laughing now, I sometimes forgot about how popular Sirius was with the ladies.

"Hello? Are you even listening?" The girl said, looking at me strangely. "I knew she was mental." she muttered to the side, even though their was no on standing there.

I had to quickly come up with something that would not only infuriate the whole fan club but would also satisfy my urge to slap this girl in front of me.

"I didn't use any love potion. Look, the reason we're together is because we like each other. Simple as that, baby." I shrugged, "There's nothing you can do about that so don't bother trying to start a nasty rumour or trying to come up with a diabolical plan to end our relationship." I said and I turned around, beginning to walk. I had a class to get to.

"But why you?! What do you have that we don't?" She exclaimed loudly making me pause. "Winnie!"

I smirked, "I have Sirius Black." That should do it.

I could practically feel her rage from across the hallway, along with her loud scream of course.

I glanced at my watch, I had almost ten minutes to get to my next class. That meant I had enough time to scan the hallways for my friends or maybe to cry about my future, the first option seemed a lot more inviting. I slipped through the hallways with ease, lazily saying hello to my fellow classmates. I caught a glimpse of brown hair, familiar brown hair. Moony.

But before I could go say hello, my name was called out from behind me.

With his warm brown eyes, kind features and round face. It was difficult not to miss Frank Longbottom. He waved at me and smiled when he saw that I had stopped for him, he quickly made his way towards me to give me a hug.

A smile made it's way across my face, "Frank!" I said, hugging him back. "It's good to see you, how've you been? How's the wife - sorry, future wife. How's Alice?" I said an excited grin on my face.

He threw his head back in laughter, "You're going to ask about Alice, but shouldn't I be asking you about Sirius?" he said, raising his eyebrows at me, a smile on his face.

I tilted my head to one side, "Touché, Longbottom, touché." I said nodding as we began to walk, it was a good thing we both had herbology together. "I'm going out with him."

Frank laughed, "Yeah, I got that bit."

Honestly, I was tired of talking to people about my relationship with Sirius. Was there no important things going on in the world? Was our relationship more interesting than hearing about poverty, world hunger or death?

I nodded, "Oh good, that saved a lot of explaining then." I paused turning to him, "Basically, Frank - it's like this, you see - when you're older you start to like people, when they like you they go out on something called a date-" I said, jokingly.

Frank cut me off with laughter, "Okay, I get it. You don't want to talk about it, I respect that." He said, nodding.

I grinned, "Thank you for noticing. I think about a dozen people have asked me about Sirius today. So far I've gotten three death threats and one box of poisoned chocolates!" I mused, while we walked. That was only today, who knew what else awaited me. It was quite funny actually, how far they were willing to go for Sirius.

His eyes almost popped out of his eye sockets, "You got death threats? Yet, you're still dating him? Wow, you must really like him. Merline, if Alice got death threats I bet I'd never see her again." He said, sounding so shocked. This was nothing compared to the other things people had tried to do to me in the past.

As we got closer to the greenhouses behind the school, I could make out Sirius talking to the people around him. He suddenly made a funny face, making them all laugh - sort of like a trigger reaction. It was kind of mesmerizing actually. He looked so nonchalant, so at ease - like he could face the world right now with no problems whatsoever.

I shrugged, "Sometimes, it's worth it. For the right person," I said, smiling.

However his gaze was directed somewhere else, to the same crowd yet he was staring at Alice who was too busy striking up a conversation with Lizzie Diflberg to notice him. Frank smiled, his eyes still latched onto her.

"Yeah, I think so too."

Before I could retort the teacher cleared her throat, "Now everyone I want you all to pair up and to walk around the greenhouse and write down what you notice about these plants. The more detail, the better!" She said, beaming.

"D'you mind?" Frank said, ushering to Alice.

I shook my head. Who was I to stand in the way of true love? "Of course not, go ahead. Go to your other half, your twin soul, your eternal love -" I said, beginning to sprout romantic bullshit.

Frank stopped my short, "I think I get the picture, Winnie. I'll see you around," He said, gently touching my arm before walking over to Alice. Alice's face split into a grin when she saw him and I could see Frank light up like a christmas tree, it was all very cute and kind of made me want to cuddle them both very badly.

"Aren't they cute?" Sirius said from behind me. I didn't even need to turn around, the scent of his cologne hit me before he had the chance to say hello.

I nodded, "If they were cats, they would be my favorite cats. I would name them Tea and Milk because together they would make Milk tea which I love." I said, watching them with a somber smile on my face.

Sirius threw his head back in laughter, "You know if you were another girl this would've been the perfect time to say something romantically cheesy." He said, bumping his shoulder into mine.

I furrowed my eyebrows at him, "Cats are romantically cheesy."

Sirius grinned, "Oh really? Cats are romantically cheesy? In what possible way?" he said, raising a brow at me.

I looked around to see if there was anyone looking at us, luckily for us everyone was too busy focusing on the vicious plants around the greenhouse. I quickly formed my hand into my cheetah paw and sliced the air with my claw.

"Don't even try to start a fight with me about cats, I will cut you." I said getting defensive while narrowing my eyes at him playfully.

He laughed, not even slightly intimidated. "Was that supposed to be scary?" He said, leaning towards me.

"No," I said a small frown on my face. I was kind of hoping that it was, but I forgot that this was the same guy who had abusive parents and fought with a werewolf once a month. "Only slightly."

Sirius pretended to study a plant when he saw the teacher approaching, once she left he turned to me and said "You know, Winnie. Dogs and cats hate each other." he said smirking.

I gave him a blank look.

"Wow, interesting discovery. How ever did you come up with this conclusion? This is groundbreaking stuff. I think I might have to alert the media." I said sarcastically, inspecting a plant.

He laughed, pulling me to the side. "Did you happen to forget what our animaguses are?" He whispered, still smiling. "Isn't that just weird?"

I nodded. "It's because we're so different, we're practically the same."

Sirius chuckled, "Yeah, that's probably it."

"Oh, were you trying to say that we're the opposite of each other? Because, I actually have a list of things we have in common." I said casually.

He gave me a strange look, "You do? Why?" he said, looking amused.

I shrugged, "I like making lists. I also have a list of favorite things to do in summer, a list of things I hate and also a list of James's favorite fruits. If you were wondering, it's mangos." I said grinning proudly.

Sirius laughed, giving me a fond smile. "This is the person I've chosen to love," He sighed. " Oh well, I guess you'll just have to do." he said jokingly.

My heart fluttered. "Yeah, well get used to it buddy." I said coolly, but I was very pleased to hear that. "You're stuck with me." I said, very happily.

"I don't think there's a better person to be stuck with. I mean, who else will make up poems about endangered animals and has a taste for peanut butter pizza sandwiches?" He said, taking a hold of my hand.

"Hey, you loved that poem." I said, pointing at him accusingly. "But, erm - thank you. That was sweet. Somewhat, I guess. Kind of. A lot. Em, cats?" I said, twisting a strand of my hair.

Sirius nodded, gravely. "Cats. Definitely cats." he then gave me a small smile, "But dogs..?" he tried. I noticed how he did not pressure me to say 'I love you too' because he realised I was still kind of uncomfortable with it. It was very considerate of him to acknowledge that and it was something that I wouldn't be forgetting any time soon.

I scoffed and shook my head. "Cats."

"All animals should be loved and taken care of equally?" He tried.

I shrugged, "Alright. I agree with that. Equality is always good."

Before Sirius could respond to me, the teacher shook her head at us. "Mr. Black and Ms. Powers unless you want to spend an hour in detention writing about the dangers of the Muldroot plant I suggest you quit chatting and start working! This isn't some sort of hangout cafe!" She said, pointing at us with her quill.

I sighed, "Alrighty, let's get to work." I said, grabbing a piece of parchment and actually getting to work.

"I heard my fanclub tried to get ahold of you." Sirius said, emulating me.

My eyes widened. "They did, how did you figure that out?"

Sirius's eyes darted to behind me where the same girl from earlier stood, " _She_ told me. Apparently you're planning to break my heart and our relationship is a coverup for your real love towards Remus Lupin." He said, eyes twinkling with humor.

I gasped, "How ever did she find out!" I said, shaking my head. "My plan is now ruined, however will I get the attention of Remus Lupin now?" I said, a bored look on my face.

"Exactly. I knew that it only meant one thing. So, what happened? Was there any screaming of some kind? Tears maybe?" He said, scribbling something down as he studied a plant.

"Not really, she just demanded to know why or how we were together. She thought I used a love potion." I said, laughing.

Sirius's eyebrows shot up, "Really? Now that is interesting." He said, grinning. "You know, I kind of feel bad for them. My fanclub. It's hilarious of course, yet kind of sad if you really think about it."

I scoffed, "The only sad thing about your fanclub is how they terrorize whoever goes out with you."

He nodded, "Now, how can we fix this problem?" He said, tapping his finger against his chin. His face suddenly changed as an idea (I assumed) popped into his head.

"What are you planning?" I asked, confused.

Sirius tilted his head and pressed his lips against mine, kissing me gently. His hands slipped into my back and I could feel him smile into the kiss. The butterflies in my stomach were released and my body as usual, started to tingle - electricity traveled all around my body, even my fingers were buzzing. I could hear the teacher protest loudly.

"No!" I heard. It was the same screech the girl screamed earlier.

We pulled apart, I had to hide behind Sirius to conceal my burning face.

"That's it. Detention for both of you and five points deducted from both of you. Is this how you behave in a classroom? What is this disrespect? Do you not care about studying the art of herbology?" The teacher said looking extremely disappointed at both of us.

"Professor, are you honestly going to stand in the way of true love?" Sirius said, slipping his arm around my shoulder, giving the teacher an equally disappointed look.

The teacher snarled, "Shut it, Black." she said, rolling her eyes at him.

That was Sirius Orion Black for you.


	34. Chapter 33

**Welcome to the end. This is the second to last chapter. I know. Enjoy.**

Chapter 33

I leaned against the wall, grinning. I wasn't sure what was more amusing, watching James fumble around the room, a very determined look on his face or watching Peter as sneakily tried to dip his finger into the bright pink cake we bought. Almost as if he could feel my gaze, Peter instinctively looked up and saw me staring at him, not amused. He quickly gave me a sheepish grin and he turned around, pretending to actually help James organize the 'surprise' birthday party he had planned for Lily Evans.

That's right, he had (once again) fallen for Hogwart's very own fiery red-head. We didn't know what happened exactly to trigger his love again for Lily Evans however, it had come to a certain point where we wouldn't even bother trying to tell him that it wasn't a good idea, nor that she hated surprises. We decided to all just play along and pretend that we were all having a good time organizing something for a girl who probably would hate the idea of a birthday party.

As usual, James put me in charge of creating an 'aesthetically pleasing atmosphere' by that he meant good music and food. Which was as boring as it sounded, Peter was in charge of decoration and Remus and Sirius had the best job of all, distracting Lily Evans for as long as humanly possible. Though, I was certain that wouldn't last long.

I glanced at the clock opposite us, there was only an hour to fix everything up and make it look nice before the party.

"Winnie, where are the magic balloons?!" James said to me before he ran off to the side of the room, a banner in his hand.

"With Peter," I said, once again. This had been the third time he had asked me and I wasn't sure if he had heard me saying so the first two times. James nodded, clearly distracted. He quickly pulled out his wand and muttering the permanent stick spell to make the banner stick to the wall, I didn't feel obligated to remind him that the permanent stick spell was actually permanent.

That was before I read the words on the banner.

 **Happy 17th birthday**

 **Lily Potter!**

I raised my eyebrows at him, a surprised face etched across my features. Lily Potter? _Really?_ Lily Evans was not going to be happy about that.

"Eh, James don't you think that'll kind of make her angry? I know you like to mess about but I don't think she'll like that." I said, unsurely. "Unless your goal is to anger her." I said, laughing slightly.

James wasn't paying attention, though. He was too busy giving instructions to Peter on how to properly tie the magic balloons to match the 'allure' of the room.

I coughed, "Eh - James?" I said louder, hoping that would catch his attention.

He raised his head higher, but his eyes were still fixated on the the table he was organizing. "Hmm?" He said, distractedly.

I rolled my eyes, feeling the anger boil inside me. If there was one thing I couldn't stand, it was being ignored. "James Potter! You listen to me right now or so help me I'll ruin this goddamned party!" I said, growling.

James jumped up from shock and turned around to me, covering his ears. His eyes alert and wide, "Merlin's blue trousers, you can shout. What, what is it? What do you want, Winnie?" He said, an annoyed look on his face.

I pointed at the banner, without saying a word.

James Potter looked at the banner for a moment and then gave me a shrug, turning back to his work. He was obviously still distracted but he would get it soon, enough. I stared at his back, waiting for him to realise. In less than three seconds, his back straightened and he turned around. His face was clear as a sheet and the expression on his face was that of pure and unrefined fear. Fear of Lily Evans, that is.

"What- who - Who did this?! Peter was it you?!" He said, turning to Peter practically seething.

Peter looked up, "Huh?" He said, confused.

"It says Lily Potter! Not Lily Evans! Lily Potter!" He said, his face red. "Winnie, help me take it down." He said approaching the banner.

I scratched the back of my neck, "Yeah about that. James, you performed the permanent sticking charm - we can't um- we can't take it down." I said, biting my lip and faintly shutting my eyes waiting for him to burst.

"We can't - we can't take it down." His voice began to quieten, his body movements had drastically changed from happy to dead. it was as if I had removed his batteries. James body slumped forwards and he moved towards the couch, lifelessly. He fell face down and remained there.

Peter and I shared an uneasy gaze.

"Eh, James? You alright mate?" Peter asked. "Prongs it's okay. We'll fix this."

"You can't fix this, Wormtail." James scoffed. "Just leave me here, to die." he said melodramatically making me chuckle quietly.

I put a hand on his shoulder, "It's alright James, honestly. We'll figure something out - we always do." I said, trying to cheer him up.

James remained where he was, impervious to my words of encouragement. I was sure that he could hear what I was saying, but he was not listening. The thing about James was that, he was lazy. He was, but when he cared about things - he became a perfectionist. Which had it's pros and cons, mainly cons. If things didn't go the way he planned, it would almost - drain him.

"What do you propose we do then, Winnie? Take it down? Oh wait, you can't. She's going to hate me, more than she already does." He said forlorn.

I sighed, "Let's just focus on the rest of the decorations and we'll figure out the banner later, okay? you worked so hard to plan everything! we're going to have this party, James."

James sighed, "I don't want to do it anymore."

I clenched my jaw, shaking my head slightly at James. It was obvious that the babying approach had no effect on him - I wasn't good at the babying approach anyway. James needed some tough love right now and that was basically my speciality.

I narrowed my eyes at him and swiftly grabbed the nearest pillow and whacked him squarely on the back."Get up now or I swear I'll tell your mother every single prank you have done this year including the one you swore us to never reveal! Get up James Potter! You're not a quitter! You need to finish what you started!"

He winced, "Ow! Fine, fine - stop hitting me, for Merlin's sake." James said reluctantly getting up. His eyes avoided the banner, shamefully.

"Get to work, people!" I said, clapping my hands together.

"Can't we have some cake or something, I'm really tired." Peter said, with a yawn. He lazily moved towards the table with cake and eyed it, a desirius look in his eyes. If I could look into his head right now, it would most likely him imagining the taste of the pink cake.

I laughed scornfully, "Do I look like I'll let you have a slice of that cake? It says Lily Evans. Not Peter whatever your last name is!"

"Pettigrew," He said sadly as he got back to work. James on the other hand was moving things around, looking absolutely miserable. I decided to ignore his misery and actually get things done, because at this rate - the party would be a total drag.

The door slammed open and Sirius walked in, a confident smirk on his face. His hands were lazily sitting in his pocket, giving off a very nonchalant and unperturbed vibe about him. He strided over to us, looking very pleased with himself. That was until he saw the expressions of all his friends, of course.

"What's wrong?" He asked no one in particular, eyes scanning the room before turning to me. "What did you do to them?" he asked jokingly, but I could tell that he was actually wondering.

I gasped, "What - why would you assume that I did something?!"

Sirius laughed, "Because they all look miserable." I glared at him. "I'm just taking the mick out of you, babe. Truly though, what happened? I thought things were going great. James looked like he was on a high, now he looks like he deserves to be in the grave." He asked, gazing over at his emotionless friend.

I laughed and then pointed at the banner behind him, "Look at the banner, darling." I said, directing his gaze to the banner behind him.

He turned around and narrowed his eyes, taking in the poster. His eyes widened, a moment later when he had become fully aware of the fact that it said Lily Potter not Lily Evans. "Oh shite." he said, laughing as he ran his fingers through his hair.

I nodded, "Shite it is, indeed. Also, James performed the permanent sticking charm. So, we can't take it down." I said, laughing. I didn't know why that was funny.

He cracked his knuckles, "Is that right? I guess we have to do something about it, but what?" He said inquisitively while gazing into my eyes. I wasn't sure whether he was asking me or if he was just staring into my eyes, not that I minded.

I shrugged, a smile stuck on my face. "Fix it." I said simply. "We have to, because they definitely can't." I said, pointing towards them.

He sighed, playfully. "Isn't it always up to the dream team?" He said, winking making me snicker quietly. "Come on, I have an idea." He said, grabbing my hand and tugging me towards the door.

"Hey where are you two going?!" Peter asked, confused.

Sirius paused, "Hmm, hell eventually. But right now, we are going to go and fix this!" He said, with an excited smile on his face before he intertwined his fingers with mine and ran out the common room, me following behind him barely containing my laughter.

* * *

"How did you think of that?" James said, clapping both his hands across our backs. "Merlin, I love you both. I love you both, so much. Do you even know how much I love the two of you?" He said, emotionally.

The music behind us was blasting and the common room was full of people, yet all of the marauders were standing and facing a painting. Well, what everyone thought was a painting. Behind it lay a banner that said, Happy Birthday Lily Potter - yet no one needed to know that. Sirius and I had managed to knick a painting off the second floor, one that people rarely noticed anyway and one that was large enough to cover the banner and we placed it on top.

"Well, you thought of how you could take it down - we thought about how we could hide it." Sirius said, a small smile on his face.

"Story of your lives." Remus said, nudging me with his shoulder making me throw my head back and laugh loudly.

"Very accurate," I said grinning. "But, hey - where is the birthday girl? Isn't she supposed to be here by now?" I asked scanning the room for the red-head.

The door slammed open as if it was just waiting for me to say that and Marlene rushed in, "Everyone! Hide!" She said, gleefully. "She's coming!"

I rolled my eyes at Marlene, the feeling of intense betrayal returning as my eyes lay upon her. "Sorry but no, I don't conform to society's needs or wants." I said, glaring at her blatantly. She turned to me, her excitement leaving her face and an expression of annoyance graced her features. The tension between both of us was almost, palpable.

Sirius laughed, placing his hand across my shoulder. "My girlfriend, in a nutshell." he said, making everyone laugh.

The lights flickered off and everyone hid, except for me. Until Sirius pulled me into the shadows and wrapped his arms around my waist. Then, I was okay with it.

Lily Evans walked in, "What?" She asked nobody. "Who turned off the lights?" She said, moving towards the light switch.

But before she could do that, the lights suddenly turned on and everyone said simultaneously, "Happy Birthday Lily!" The loudest voice was of course, the one that belonged to James Potter who was also holding the pink cake.

Lily Evans stood still, staring dumbfounded at everyone. Her face then turned red and her hand went up to her mouth, her eyes wide and filled with a certain emotion I couldn't pinpoint. She stared at everyone and her gaze lay upon James Potter, who looked increasingly uncomfortable at the silence that filled the room.

"Are - are you alright, Lily?" James asked, uncertainly.

"Oh shite, maybe she doesn't like surprises." Sirius whispered to my ear, making me nod. We both couldn't take our eyes off of her.

A sound emitted from her, a sob maybe. Sirius and I exchanged looks of unease, but the sobs turned louder, before her face broke out into a smile and she began to laugh, loudly. Lily Evans wasn't laughing, she was howling with laughter. Lily was now smiling brightly and happily, something she didn't do much with James.

"Oh my - Merlin, is this - this is all for me?" Lily asked James looking, touched. "Why?"

James let the cake float in the air with a simple flick of his wand, "Because, it's your birthday." He said simply before running a hand through his hair making it even more messy than it already was.

She laughed, "Thank you, really." She said, earnestly and then proceeded to hug him.

Everyone gasped at the sight that lay in front of us. The two people who have been fighting non-stop for five years were now, hugging? It wasn't a sight you saw every day, actually this was a once in a lifetime event. I was sure James felt that way as well because he looked like he had gone to heaven but he tried not to let that show (key word: tried).

"Hmm, I now see why everyone thinks they look good together." Sirius said to Remus and Peter as they made their way towards us.

"I think she would be the man in the relationship." Peter said, laughing.

I scoffed, "Why? Because a woman who has her own opinions or is strong with her beliefs is seen as a tough and strong woman and because dominance is characterized as a male trait so, you label her as the man in the relationship for her because she exudes strength which women can not have? Stop enforcing gender roles and just be happy for James, wormtail!" I said, narrowing my eyes at him.

Peter's eyes widened, "I'm so sorry."

Remus nodded, "I agree, in a world where it is systematically better for a woman to be submissive and quiet. A powerful woman is almost the biggest threat to society, which Winnie does not like to conform to."

I grinned, "Exactly."

Sirius grinned, "I'm so glad you're my girlfriend." he said resting his jaw on my head. I smiled happily.

"James and Lily," Remus said, "Who would've thought?" he said, beaming at them even though they were too distracted with each other to notice.


	35. Chapter 34

Welcome to the end. Thank you all for everything, this has been a great journey. I am considering writing an epilogue, so let me know if you think that's a good idea. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 34

We all nodded along with Remus, murmuring words of agreement. Now that they were actually talking like human beings and agreeing on things, they didn't look so awful together. Maybe there was a chance. I mean, no one thought that Sirius and I would be dating but you know what they say, life is full of twists and turns.

"Life is strange like that." I mumbled.

Remus looked at me, an amused expression on his face "You would know." making me chuckle and pat his shoulder.

"No one - no one's ever done something like that for me before." Lily said after letting him go. Her eyes were twinkling with what appeared to be happy tears. She then realised everyone's eyes were engrossed in them and she went pink, James noticed this and looked at us - pleading for us to do something and quickly.

Remus nodded and cleared his throat, "So, how about that cake, eh?" He said, a charming smile on his face and he was met back with a loud cheer. We all made our way to the table, eager to get a slice of that cake.

James made the cake float all the way over to the table and Lily approached the table, a smile on her face. James then turned off the lights and lit up the candles on a cake, emitting a warm glow that almost made Lily look like she was shining. She gazed at the cake, a smile stuck on her face before looking up at all of us and shooting us all appreciative glances.

"Thank you all for this, I - I don't know what to say. I'm kind of overwhelmed actually, I just can't believe that you all did this for me." She said, tucking a loose strand of her ponytail behind her ear.

"It was James, actually." I piped up, grinning.

James looked up, his face reddening from the recognition I gave him. "It was nothing - Peter and Winnie helped too," He said, laughing awkwardly.

Lily didn't seem surprised, however it did seem like it did tug on her heartstrings, "I'm sure it was," She laughed, "Thank you James." James looked like he was going burst into tears from happiness.

"Blow out the candles so we can eat the cake!" An excited girl announced, making the crowd chortle with laughter.

"Right, right of course." Lily said and was just about to blow out the candles before James stopped her, with a loud yell.

"Wait, wait! Make a wish first." he said and then looked at the candles, making sure she didn't blow any of it yet.

Lily looked up, surprised before she racked her brain. "You know what? I don't think I need to." She said, smiling at him warmly, making him turn a darker shade of red before blowing out the cake. The crowd cheered and clapped loudly as they each grabbed a slice of the cake. I laughed as I watched Peter excitedly yell, "I want the largest piece!"

James and Lily were quietly talking to themselves, Lily was avidly talking to James about something I couldn't hear, but James seemed to be interested. Or maybe he was pretending. Whatever it was, James couldn't take his eyes off of her and his grin was enough to put me at peace. We momentarily made eye contact and he gave me a thumbs-up when she wasn't looking before he went back to chatting with Lily.

I smiled as I watched people dig into the cake happily while talking loudly, the lively buzzing of people - the energy in the room it was intoxicating. I scanned the room for my friends, James looked like he was dreaming, his face was stuck in a permanent smile. Peter was excitedly enjoying his cake, Remus was re-telling the story of how they had managed to have this party without McGonagall noticing to a pretty Ravenclaw girl.

"What's on your mind, beautiful?" Sirius said, arriving out of nowhere holding two butterbeers in his hands, before passing one to me. When he said, beautiful my heart fluttered and my stomach constricted, I still wasn't used to that.

My heart fluttered at the 'beautiful' part - I still wasn't used to that. I smiled at him nevertheless and accepted the butterbeer gratefully, "I'm really happy for James. For everyone, I'm just really happy." I said, laughing.

He mimicked my smile, "Me too, Prongs looks like he's about to explode into happy tears. Don't be surprised if he plops down on one knee and asks for her hand in marriage." he said, taking a sip.

I snorted, "Yeah, at this rate - she might just say yes." I said amusingly while winking at him

He chuckled and then looked around before leaning in "I have some excellent news, would you like to hear about it? " He said, whispering.

I narrowed my eyes at him, curiosity building up inside up of me. "I always do." I said, nodding slightly.

He slid his fingers through mine and we slipped out of the common room, away from the noise and the crowded party. We were walking side by side now in the surprisingly empty hallways. He didn't say anything right away and I didn't pressure him to. The castle was still, like a undisturbed piece of art. As we walked the hallways, I realised that one day I might not be in Hogwarts anymore. That was kind of scary. But in the best way possible.

"So, what's going on?" I asked, turning to him.

Sirius ran a hand through his hair, letting go of my hand. Instantly, I missed the warmth of his hand. "I ran into Reg when I was distracting Evans. Guess what he told me? I've been disowned." He said, laughing. "Blasted off the family tree, I am." he said, his tone not revealing any emotions he was feeling.

My eyes widened, I wasn't sure whether he was happy about that or upset. His undecipherable expression was concerning me, "Sirius, are you okay?" I asked, putting a comforting hand on his arm.

He looked up at me, "Oh no, I'm fine. That's not even the news, apparently my cousin Andie - you remember her, right?" He paused and I nodded, "She found me a place to stay so now I don't have to stay over at your or Prong's house all the time."

"What? Sirius!" I frowned at him, "You're always welcome at our houses, you know that." I said, unsure where the conversation was going.

He laughed "I know," he touched my cheek. "It's not that, it's the fact that I'll have my own place. I'm going to have my own place, Winnie!" He said throwing his hands up in the air," his eyes were glimmering with hope, hope for a better future. It warmed my heart.

Sirius exhaled, he looked like a physical weight had been taken off of him. "Finally. It's going to be great and I'll do whatever I want and I'll have no one telling me how to live my life." He breathed.

I nodded, "Have you told anyone yet?" I asked, tucking a strand of my dark hair behind my ear.

"No," He shook his head, "Not yet, that's why I took you out here , I didn't want anyone to hear - you're the first to know." I was touched that he wanted to tell me first.

The myriad of emotions I was feeling for him were overwhelming. "I'm- I'm so happy for you, honestly." I said genuinely thrilled for him, feeling my eyes tearing up and I wrapped my arms around him. This was what he wanted for such a long time and now he had the chance, to be free.

Sirius hugged me back and then wrapped his arms around me tightly and spun me around while I shrieked, "Sirius!" I said laughing.

"You can visit too, I mean if you want." He said, after putting me down a moment later.

I shrugged, "Hmm, maybe - but maybe not, I do have a lot of other things to attend to." I said, arrogantly and sashaying away from him. He laughed and gently tugged me back to him.

"You better come visit me," he murmured into my hair.

I tapped my chin, "Hmm, have you checked if your flat has a no-dog policy? Because if not, that could be a little problem." I teased, making him throw his head back in laughter.

"Hah! very funny. Where'd you think that up?" He said, hugging me from behind and nuzzling his head in my shoulder. "I love you." he said, making me

"I love you too." I said, turning around and closing in on the distance between us, wrapping my arms around his neck and proceeding to kiss him softly on the lips. He reciprocated with ease, slipping his arms into my waist deepening the kiss. I smiled into the kiss, pulling away a moment later both panting. I then started to laugh, laugh so hard that my sides were hurting. Sometimes I forgot that this was real, that we were together. That we were happy! _I_ was happy, I felt like things were finally looking up for me - and it felt great.

He shot me an odd look but began to laugh as well, "What are you laughing at?"

"Who would've thought?" I said simply.

He shrugged, immediately understanding what I meant. "We've never been ordinary." He said and glanced at his watch, "It's getting a bit late," and then pointed at the direction of the common room. "Want to head back?"

"Absolutely," I said and we walked together to the common room.

Once arriving back, Remus spotted us both and ushered at us to come over where Peter, James, Lily and him sat. Sirius and I exchanged smirking looks when we saw Lily sitting comfortably next to James, engulfed in a quiet conversation. The party seemed to have dimmed down and there were less people, just the random party-lovers, passed out kids and the older Gryffindor students.

"Hi everybody," I said, sitting down on the loveseat. "How are you all this fine evening?" I said, my eyes glazing over at Lily Evans who didn't seem to notice my eyes.

James looked up and grinned, "Hey, Dot where'd you two disappear off to?" The urge to roll my eyes at that nickname faded away, I was way too happy to care.

I pretended to think about it, "Oh nothing, we just traveled to an alternate universe where we don't exist and save the world from raging dinosaurs." I said, leaning back into the chair.

"Oh, no - again?!" Remus said, a carefree expression on his face making us all chortle.

Sirius's eyes trailed over to Lily Evans who was watching us all intently, "Some birthday, eh Evans?" He said, grinning.

Her face lit up instantly and she laughed almost melodically. "You can say that again," her green eyes twinkled. "I don't think I've ever had a birthday quite like this one. It was lovely, it truly was."

"We're glad you had a good time," Remus said, smiling. He then seemed to remember something because he looked up at me, a pensive look on his face. "Oh, hey - Winnie, remember how you said at the beginning of the year how you'd make this year the best year of your life? How'd that turn out?" He said, making everyone's head snap towards me, leaning closer to hear what I had to say.

I thought about it. I thought about how excited I was in the beginning of the year. I thought about all the things that went wrong, all the problems that seemed to never end. With Mulciber, Avery with my ex-boyfriend. With the news about He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named I thought about how lonely I was. I thought about Sirius. My birthday. Christmas. I remembered how happy I was when I saw my brother, my parents. Everything seemed to flash before my very eyes, everything that had happened had felt like the most important, dramatic thing in my life. Then it passed, then I was okay. No matter what, I always ended up okay.

"You know what I just realized?" I said, a small grin spreading across my face.

Peter inched closer, "What?" he asked sounded genuinely interested.

"This year has been the strangest, most frustrating year of my life. I have never felt more alone than I have this year. So much has changed. I can barely recognize my old self. But you know what? I wouldn't change a thing."

"That's really good, Winnie," Remus said. "I'm really happy to hear that."

"Yeah," I said, smiling. "So, Remus tell me. That Ravenclaw you were sitting with, she's pretty cute isn't she?" I said, smirking at him as I watched his face turn red and his eyes widen.

"Not again." He said, covering his face with a pillow.

Lily then stood up and then looked at all of us, "Okay everybody I'm going to leave before I see Remus squirm, I'll see you all in the morning." She said and then

James smiled, "Good night." he said and they had a brief exchange of smiles before she left.

"Really?" Peter said, sounding shocked. "Even after everything?"

"I said I wanted to have the best year of my life and I did. It hasn't been perfect- but it was exactly what I needed to change, to grow. If those things didn't happen to me, I would've been a different person. I changed, I did but in the best way possible." I said with a slight shrug. "That was deep, but it's true." I nodded but then felt my face grow slightly pink when I noticed others were listening to what I was saying as well.

"Aw, she's blushing!" James hooted, "How cute."

I rolled my eyes, "Shut it, you moose." I said, crinkling my nose at him making him laugh. "What about you and Lily though?"

Sirius laughed, "Oh yeah," He said, hitting him sharply on his thigh. "What about Evans?"

James ran a hand through his hair, "I think I have a chance guys." He said, looking as lit up as a christmas tree. "I should've thrown her a birthday party years ago." He said, making us all laugh.

The conversation started to roll from there, the range of topics fluctuated from silly jokes Peter had heard throughout the party to more meaningful questions like what was in a black hole. I laughed too much, smiled a lot and confirmed that aliens did indeed exist somewhere in the solar system (that was after I explained what aliens were).

There were only a few months left until summer and then, seventh year. I didn't know exactly what I was going to do with my life. I didn't know what was going to happen to me in a week's time, let alone a year's time. I didn't know what Remus was going to study, or whether James and Lily would end up together. I didn't know whether Peter was going to ask out the hufflepuff girl. I didn't know if Sirius would run away or start something. I had no idea!

My eyes caught my reflection in the window next to me. I changed, there was no denying that. Not just emotionally, physically as well. My hair was longer, my eyes happier - my smile wider. I could faintly remember my old self. Bitter, frustrated and rude. That was Winnie Powers. But now that I was staring at myself and I saw hope, I saw someone I was proud to be. A good friend, a good girlfriend, a good person. This was who I wanted to be.

I was afraid. I was and there is nothing wrong with that. But despite being afraid, there were a few things I knew. I knew that I had my friends, my family and most importantly I had myself. Because in a world where you are constantly taught to figure things out, figuring yourself out, learning who you truly are - that is the true challenge. That is the challenge that I overcame. I wasn't simply Winnie Powers, friend of the marauders. No, I was Winnie Powers. With my tendency to laugh at the silliest things, my unruly hair, my practical jokes and lopsided smile. I finally figured out who I was. I was, I am, Winnie Powers.

Life was just beginning to unravel itself and I wanted - I needed to be there to witness it.


End file.
